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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 







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BRANCH OF FRUIT OF MEECH'S PROLIFIC QUINCE, FROM A FIVE- 
TEAR-OLD TREE. 



QUINCE CULTURE 



AN ILLUSTRATED HAND-BOOK FOR THE PROPAGATION AND 

CULTIVATION OF THE QUINCE, WITH DESCRIPTIONS 

OF ITS VARIETIES, INSECT ENEMIES, DISEASES 

AND THEIR REMEDIES 



-^/.^^ 



SECRETARY OF THE VINELAND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, AND 

HONORARY MEMBER OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE 

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION. 







NEW TOBK 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

1896 



Copyright, 1896, 

By orange judd company 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



9 

Preface 

Introduction - - 

Chapter I. 

.--- 13 
History of the Qumce 

Chapter II. 

17 

Structure of Quince Trees.-- ---- 

• Chapter III. 

_. 20 
Varieties of the Qumce 

Chapter IV. 

oo 

Soils for the Quince 

Chapter V. 

.... 36 
Manures for the Qumce - 

Chapter VI. 
Location-Trenching-Drainage-Cultivation - - - - 41 

Chapter VII. 

, J --- 43 

Laying out the Orchard - 

Chapter VIII. 

^ . ---- 47 

Transplanting the Qumce 

Chapter IX. 

When to Transplant-Keeping a Eecord-Eflects of Winds ^^ 

—Straightening Trees - - - 

Chapter X. 

^ . ---- 54 

Propagation of the Qumce 

Chapter XI. 

. ... 64 
Pruning the Qumce 

(V) 



• 



VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter XII. 
Promoting Fruitfulness without Pruning 74 

Chapter XIII. 
Flowers and Fruit 75 

Chapter XIV. 
Thinning the Fruit 77 

Chapter XV. 
Gathering and Marketing 78 

Chapter XVI. 
The Profits of Quince Culture 81 

Chapter XVII. 
Diseases of the Quince 82 

Chapter XVIII. 
Winter-Killing .' 95 

Chapter XIX. 
Insect Enemies of the Quince 97 

Chapter XX. 
Additional Insect Enemies ... 133 

Chapter XXI. 
Some Fungi Injurious to the Quince 145 

Chapter XXII. 

Varieties of Recent Introduction 161 

Chapter XXIII. 

Chemical Analysis of the Ash of the Quince 163 

Chapter XXIV. 
Birds— Toads— Rabbits— Mice 170 

Chapter XXV. 
Medicinal and Economic Uses of the Quince 172 



ILLUSTEATIONS. 



Frontispiece, Fruiting Branch of Meech's Prolific Quince, 



Figure Page 

1,2,3. Typical Forms of Angers 

Quince 22 

4,5. Typical Forms of Orange 

or Apple Quince 23 

6. Champion Quince 24 

7. Chinese Quince.- 24 

8. Fuller Quince 26 

9. Meech's Prolific Quince 28 

10. Missouri Mammoth Quince 30 

11. Pear Quince--.. 31 

12. Portugal Quince 31 

13. Rea's Mammoth Quince ... 32 

14. Laying out in Squares 43 

15. Laying out in Quincunx... 44 

16. Quincunx by Circles 44 

17. Fixed Marker 45 

18. Adjustable Marker 45 

19. Movable Triangle - 45 

20. Locating Board 46 

21. Locating Board in Use 46 

22. Good Tree Digging 48 

23. Bad Tree Digging --- - 48 

24. 25. Heeling-in Trees 51 

26. Layering . - - 55 

27. Mound or Stool Layering-- 57 

28. Large Cutting 58 

29. Root Grafting 58 

30. Root Cutting 59 

31. Splitting Knife and Chisel. 60 

32. Cleft Grafting..- -- 60 

33. Splice Grafting.- - 60 

34. Saddle Grafting --. 61 

35. 36. Side Grafting 61 

37, 38. Crown Grafting 62 

39, 40. Budding Knives 62 

41. Stick of Buds 63 

42. Cutting a Bud 63 

43. Training a Shoot from a Bud 63 

(VII) 



Figure Page 

44. Pruning Shears 65 

45. Buds an d Branches 66 

46. Tree before Pruning 70 

47. Tree after Pruning 71 

48. Bad and Good Pruning 72 

49. Effects of Bad Pruning 72 

50. Injury from Bad Pruning-- 73 

51. Result of Good Pruning ---73 

52. Ringing 75 

53. A Cheap Step-Ladder- 79 

54. Stave Basket 79 

55. Fruit Crate 80 

56. Stem at a Bud as Affected 

by RjBstilia aurantiaca--- 86 

57. Stem between Buds Affected 

by Raestilia aurantiaca--- 87 
Fruit and Stem as Affected 

by Raestilia aurantiaca-.- 88 
Spore of the RaestUia, Mag- 
nified 400 Diameters 89 

Allorhina nitida 89 

Leaves Affected by Morth- 
iera Mespili 90 

62. Morthiera Mespili, Magni- 

fied 400 Diameters 91 

63. Mycelium of the Fungi 91 

64. Hendersonia Cydonia, Mag- 

nified 400 Diameters 91 

Leaves Affected by Hender- 
sonia Cydonia 92 

Leaf Blight --- 93 

67. Lai-va of the Borer. - - - 98 

68. Pupa of the Borer 98 

69. Beetle of the Borer -. 98 

70. Woolly Aphis .100 

71. Cut- Worm, Moth 102 

72. Chrysalis of the Variegated 

Cut-Worm.. 103 



58. 



59. 



61 



m. 



66. 



VIII 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Figure Page 

73. Larva of tlie Variegated 

Cut- Worm 103 

74. Eggs of the Variegated Cut- 

Worm 103 

75. Larva and Moth of tlie 

Darlc-Sided Cut- Worm.... 103 

76. Agrotis scandens 104 

77. W-Marked Cut-Worm 104 

78. Moth of W-Marked Cut- 

Worm 104 

79. Calosoma Scrutator 105 

80. Calosoma calidum 105 

81. Eggs of Handmaid Moth. .. 106 
82 to 87. Larva of Handmaid 

Moth 107 

88. Chrysalis of Handmaid 

Moth 107 

89. Handmaid Motli 108 

90. TachinaFly— A Parasite... 108 

91. Fall Web- Worm, Larva .... 109 

92. Chrysalis of Fall Web- 

Worm 109 

93. Moth of Fall Web-Worm. . . 109 

94. Bag- Worm— All Stages 110 

95. Cryptus inquisitor 112 

96. Hemiteles thyridopteryx— 

Male 112 

97. Female 112 

98. Corn Emperor Moth- 

Larva 112 

99. Female 113 

100. Male 113 

101. White -Marked Tussock- 

Moth— Larva 115 

102. Pupa 115 

103. Male 115 

104. Pear-Tree Slug— Female.... 117 

105. Larva 117 

106. Polyphemus Moth, Female 120 

107. Male 120 

108. Chrysalis 121 

109. Larva 121 

110. Cocoon 122 

111. Long-Tailed Ophion 123 

112. Cotton Tuft, Larva and 

Cocoon 124 



Figure Page 

113. The Green Aphis 125 

114. Leaf Grumpier 129 

115. Leaves Destroyed by 

Crumpler 129 

116. Tarnished Plant-Bug 130 

117. Pear-Tree Blister-Beetle ... 131 

118. Chrysomelians 131 

119. Quince Curculio 132 

120. Cryptophasa unipunctata.. 134 

121. Scolytus rugulosus 135 

122. Perforations of Bark 13G 

123. Breeding Chamber Under 

the Bark 136 

124. Parasite of Larva 136 

125. Rose Beetle 137 

126. Male Gipsy Moth 139 

127. Female Gipsy Moth 139 

128. Gipsy Moth Caterpillar.... 140 

129. Gipsy Moth Pupa 140 

130. Limb Infested with Scale.. 141 

131. Underside of a Young Larva 141 

132. Adult Female Containing 

Young 142 

133. Adult Male Insect 142 

134. Bud Moth, Twice the Nat- 

ural Size 144 

135. Larva, Three Times Natural 

Size 144 

136. Central View of aPupa.... 144 

137. Dorssl View of a Pupa 144 

138. Young Quince Affected 

with Rust 148 

139. Spores of Quince Spot Fun- 

gus 150 

140. Badly Spotted Quince 151 

141. Quince Affected with Black 

Rot 152 

142. Pale Rot of Quinces 154 

143. Quince Affected with Ripe 

Rot 155 

144. Ripe Rot of Quince from 

Apple 156 

145. Quince Showy with Decays 158 

146. 147, 148. Saving Girdled 

Trees 171 



PREFACE. 

To cultivate any fruit with the highest success there 
must be sufficient knowledge of what is involved to 
enable the cultivator to assign a reason for what he does 
both to the soil and to the tree. 

The object of this work is to furnish a manual or 
hand-book for the novice and those who are already more 
or less informed, and yet desire a work of reference to 
consult in the various operations necessary to attain the 
highest success in quince culture. 

Aware of the imperfections of everything human, the 
author does not expect that this attempt to furnish a 
collective exhibit of the points of greatest interest per- 
taining to this culture of a much-neglected fruit will be 
beyond criticism. The demand for a work on qumce 
culture is urgent, and is shown by many letters of in- 
quiry from all parts of the country. Solicitations have 
been numerous, asking the author to write this book, 
and give the world the results of his experience. 

On consulting the large libraries of the great cities, 
and those in smaller cities and towns, no separate work 
was found on quince culture. Interesting articles are 
scattered through many volumes on agriculture, horti- 
culture, and gardening, showing marked improvement m 
the culture of nearly all fruits. There are works more 
or less pretentious on the culture of the apple, pear, 
peach, etc., but the various articles relating to the quince 
are dispersed through so many different books, that 
the labor of finding them, when the information they 
contain is wanted, is too great to be generally undertaken 
by even those having access to ample libraries. 

After deciding to prepare this manual, the author spent 
a year re-examining all the points, as the seasons favored, 
(9) 



10 PREFACE. 

to be well satisfied in regard to all the insect enemies 
and diseases of the quince, and in reading whatever he 
could find upon any part of the subject. Besides the 
many points of interest in his own experience and obser- 
vation, he takes great pleasure in acknowledging his 
indebtedness to the writings of Charles Downing, John 
Lindley, J. J. Thomas, A. S. Fuller, S. W. Cole, W. 
Sanders, P. B. Mead, and others in the department of 
propagation and culture. In studying the insect ene- 
mies of the quince, his own observations have been 
greatly aided by the works of Harris, Packard, Eiley 
and Saunders, on entomology. In observing the dis- 
eases to which the quince is subject, substantial help 
has been derived from Professor Arthur's researches on 
the blight, and the North American Fungi of Professor 
Ellis. In the hope that it may prove a serviceable help to 
all who shall consult its pages, it is respectfully submitted 
to the public by the author. 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 

Since the publication of the first edition of this work 
a number of insect enemies have been investigated, and 
several species not then suspected have proved injurious 
to the quince. All these, as well as the important fun- 
gous diseases to which the quince is subject, are de- 
scribed in this volume, together with their preventives 
and remedies. Of special interest will be found the 
chapter on the analysis of the quince, by Dr. H. W. 
Wiley. Condensed descriptions of the varieties of recent 
introduction have also been added, thus bringing the 
work up to the present date. 

W. W. MEECH. 



INTRODUCTION. 

We live in a progressive age, when knowledge is 
greatly increased, and the mental horizon widened by 
the researches and observations of experimenters in hor- 
ticulture, as in every other pursuit. Improvement in 
quince culture has been remarkably slow, yet, on the 
whole, has certainly attained to an encouraging state of 
progress. The markets of the country are beginning to 
be fairly supplied with this fruit, where but a few years 
ago it was very scarce. 

For both ornament and profit I know of no fruit that 
can be planted with better promise of success than the 
quince. In a city yard, or a village garden, there will be 
some spot for a tree or two ; and on a farm, large or 
small, the judicious planting of this fruit will be a most 
profitable investment. The method of culture here 
described has been attended with marked success. In 
practice, the difference between success and failure often 
depends on a little thing, very easily overlooked by the 
most skilful. But as a good general organizes a victory 
out of a defeat, so will a good culturist learn by his 
failures to succeed in further trials, as by them he gets 
back to first principles. 

Quince culture is both an art and a science. One 
great reason why the cultivation of the quince has been so 
much neglected is, that it was accepted as a foregone con- 
clusion that no success was to be expected in the place 
and with the facilities at command. But now, with the 
multiplication, improvement, and cultivation well under- 
stood, and reduced to some degree of exactness, it is as 
reasonable to expect success with this as with any other 
fruit. 

(11) 



12 INTRODUCTIOiq". 

It will be of great service to understand the prin- 
cipal laws governing the growth of plants, and the 
application of those laws to this fruit. The method 
of culture most in agreement with these laws will 
always give the greatest promise of success. As was 
said at a meeting of the Maryland Horticultural Soci- 
ety: ^' This fruit deserves systematic cultivation, in- 
stead of the careless system of a tree here and there in 
the corners of fences, and in wet places, untrimmed and 
choked by weeds." 

In 1872 the editor of the ^^Horticulturist" asked: 
*' Why does not some one, of a careful turn of mind, 
forsaking the beaten path of fever for strawberries, cran- 
berries, pears, and peaches, study the characteristics of 
the quince, and learn its needs of soil and climate, and 
then follow them up by planting a good orchard ? " The 
author has done this, and here gives the results of his 
experience. 

The aim in this manual is to furnish all needed infor- 
mation for the profitable cultivation of quinces in all 
places where they will grow. Let this fruit, for which 
there is no substitute, be no lono'er only a luxury within 
the means of the rich, but become so common and abun- 
dant that it may be enjoyed by all. It will greatly 
increase the true wealth of the nation to provide all 
classes with all the varieties of fruits in their seasons, and 
so extend the means of health and happiness. 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER I. 
HISTORY OF THE QUINCE. 

CYDOiiriA, to which the Quince {0. vulgaris) belongs, is 
a genus of trees and shrubs of the natural order RosacecB, 
sub-order Pomece, and nearly allied to Pyrus, with which 
some botanists unite it; but it is distinguished from Pyrus 
by having many seeds in each cell, and by the abundance 
of mucilage in the seed cells. It is found all through 
Western Asia and Southern Europe, whence its cultiva- 
tion has been extended. 

The rabbinical traditions of the Jews make it the 
most ancient of all our fruits, dating back to the Garden 
of Eden ; and there, by its exquisite beauty and delight- 
ful fragrance, tempting Eve to commit her first disobedi- 
ence. In harmony with this tradition, is the fact that 
the quince grows in high perfection all through Palestine 
and the surrounding countries. This fruit at Hebron is 
so mild that many eat it out of hand, as we do apples 
and pears. Both Jews and Mohammedans make great 
use of it for various confections, preserving it in earthen 
vessels akin to the crocks in use among us. According 
to the '' Horticulturist " for 1848-9, ''The quince of Persia 
attains a weight of fifty to sixty ounces ; ripens on the 
tree or in the store, and can be eaten like a soft ripe pear." 

It was early cultivated among the Greeks, who called 
it the Kudonion Malon, the Cydonian Apple, and used 
(13) 



14 QUINCE CULTURE. 

it extensively as a preserve. Its botanical name, Cydo- 
nia, comes from Oydon, a city on the island of Crete, 
where it grew abundantly. They found it then, as now, 
"both toothsome and wholesome." A writer in the sev- 
enth volume of Putnam's Magazine tells how the ancients 
testified to their appreciation of this fruit by dedicating 
it to Venus. They regarded it as the emblem of both 
love and happiness. With it they decorated the temples 
of Cyprus and Paphos. It was the chosen ornament of 
the statues of Hymen. In the garden of the Tuilleries 
there is a figure of Hercules holding quinces in his hand. 
According to Plutarch, Solon enacted a law that this 
fruit should be the invariable feast of each newly- wedded 
pair before they retired to their nuptial couch. Homer, 
the Asiatic Greek and father of epic poetry, three thou- 
sand years ago described a garden in his Odyssey with 
such classic beauty, and sympathy with the real life of 
the people of that age, that we almost wish we had lived in 
his Smyrnian home to regale ourselves with the luscious 
quinces and other fruits there grown in their perfection. 

From the classic plains of Greece, where it may have 
formed the sacred shade of Academus, this golden fruit, 
in genial fellowship with literature and the arts, traveled 
into Italy, where Virgil, the prince of Latin poets, threw 
over its own inherent charms the rhythmic spell of his 
enchanting lays. One of the magic effusions of his genius 
appears in the beautiful lament of the shepherd Da- 
mon, in the Vlllth Eclogue, where he honors the quince 
by placing it among the select exponents of a higher 
order of nature, hypothetically conceived to illustrate the 
irremediable determination of the lover's despair. 

The quince was, according to Goropius, the golden apple 
of the Hesperides. Columella, the most elegant and ex- 
tensive agricultural and horticultural writer of his time, 
*' who scattered incense upon the altar of its virtues,'' 
extolled it as the promoter of both health and pleasure. 



HISTORY OF THE QUI:N^CE. 15 

The Elder Pliny, with the fond instinct of the true 
pomologist, eloquently descants upon its valuable prop- 
erties, and paints the tree as it appeared about Eome, 
with its branches depending to the ground, jeweled with 
starry fruit. In fact, '' the clever criticisms of this early 
naturalist soon became lost amid his enchanting pane- 
gyrics." Different varieties of the quince (more than we 
possess now), he tells us, were cultivated in profusion 
throughout Italy, ^^both for ornamental and useful in- 
tents." Like the orange and lemon in our Northern States, 
it appears sometimes to have been grown in boxes, which 
"were exposed for admiration in the ante-chambers of 
the great." He extolled most highly its health-imparting 
and medicinal virtues, enlivening his classic descriptions 
with a warmth of enthusiasm which ''must inevitably 
fill the modern admirer of the quince with enduring 
delight." 

Professor Targioni, an Italian horticulturist, informs 
us, that at the present time the peasantry in some parts 
of Southern Europe highly prize the quince for perfuming 
their stores of linen, and that in the yet warmer lands it 
is still found as gratifying to the palate as to the nostrils. 
A recent traveler in Persia, after speaking of its use as 
a dessert, says it is yearly forwarded as presents to Bag- 
dad, where the highly perfumed odor is found so power- 
ful, that if there be but a single quince in a caravan, no 
one who accompanies it can remain unconscious of its 
presence. 

The Italian name of the quince, cotona or cotogna, is 
believed to be the origin of melocoton for a quince, as 
melocotogno is the Italian for a quince tree. The Spanish 
melocoton is a peach tree grafted on the quince, or the 
fruit of this, but memirillo is the Spanish name of the 
quince, as malum cotoneum is the Latin for a quince- 
apple. The Portuguese name is marmelo, from which 
comes our marmalade, a most valuable form of pre- 



16 QUINCE CULTURE. 

serving the Portugal quince, one of the best quality. 
In the south of France, on the border of Garonne, 
quinces are extensively raised to make marmalade, 
which is called cotignac, from the Italian. The French 
name of the quince is coing or coignasier, a corner, and 
seems to have been applied from the old idea of planting 
this tree in a fence corner. The Dutch call the quince 
Kivepeer, and the Germans Quitte or Quittenhaum, and 
both cultivate it quite extensively. From Royle's Illus- 
trations of the Himalaya Mountains we learn that *' The 
quince plants introduced from Cashmere do not differ 
from those already in India (Cydonia vulgaris). It is 
found, either in a wild or cultivated state^ on the ramifi- 
cations of Taurus and Caucasus, Hindoo-Khoosh and the 
Himalayas, or in the valleys included within them." 
"They are abundant at Bokhara and other places in the 
north of Hindoo-Khoosh." 

It is now found growing spontaneously on the banks 
of the Danube and in Southern France. It is also exten- 
sively cultivated in various parts of the French Republic, 
especially at Angers, whence the stocks of young trees 
are sent abroad by the million. Early in the history of 
England we find accounts of its culture, where it was 
employed for hedges as well as for ornament and fruit. 
It seems to have traveled with the march of civilization, 
and been celebrated in song as in mythology. 

The Pilgrims early brought it to New England, where 
it was cultivated on the rugged hillsides and in the 
valleys ; and as they spread over the country in their 
migrations, they carried with them the older varieties 
of this fruit. The chief improvements in the varieties 
and modes of cultivation are the result of the last half 
century's experience ; and now, as we see all parts of the 
civilized world interested in this fruit, we hail with joy 
its progress and success. 



STRUCTURE OF THE QUINCE TREE. 17 

CHAPTER 11. 
STRUCTURE OF THE QUINCE TREE. 

The root aud top are the two principal parts of all 
trees. When raised from seed, a plant or tree has first 
of all a main or tap-root, which goes down into the 
ground, where it ramifies, and gives support and nour- 
ishment to the top. The point where the root and top 
meet is the collar of the tree. Trees grown from cut- 
tings do not have a tap-root like seedlings, but make up 
for it by the large number of laterals which they send out. 
The top, consisting of the trunh and branches, termi- 
nating in twigs with their leaves, is the counterpart to 
the root system. The quince, in these respects, differs 
in no way from other trees. The bark of one year old 
twigs and shoots is beautifully flecked with a thick dot- 
ting of light-colored spots, called lenticelles. They are 
corky formations, having just projection enough to give 
a slight roughness to the surface. 

The buds are of two sorts, leaf and fruit. The buds 
of the quince that produce fruit push out short growths 
from one to three inches long, on the ends of which are 
the blossoms and fruit. The leaf buds resemble them 
at first, but when expanded are destitute of the organs 
of the flowers and fruit. The quince makes its most 
vigorous buds on the sides of its shoots instead of the 
ends, and, when well cultivated, growth continues until 
the autumn frosts nip the terminal buds. A large num- 
ber of the buds are latent, and may remain dormant for 
years. They are Nature's reserve to grow when others 
are destroyed. When a vigorous shoot has been well cut 
back, buds often push on each side of the visible buds, 
giving three and sometimes more growths at ooe place. 
The latent buds are developed when large branches are 



18 QUINCE CULTURE. 

cut back or broken off by accident, or when even the 
whole head of the tree has been removed. In a very vig- 
orous tree it is quite common to have the buds push 
their threefold development simultaneously; the central 
growth bearing the blossom, and those on either side of 
it only making wood-growth. Occasionally two of the 
three bloom together. By observing the position of 
the buds along a branch, in going the length of five buds 
you can so prune as to give any desired direction to the 
new growth, and thus form a symmetrical tree. 

The leaves, with their stipules, form the foliage of the 
tree, and seem to serve much the same purpose for it that 
the lungs of animals do for them. Leaves not only give 
beauty to the tree, but are necessary to its existence. 
They are formed of a series of veins, between which is 
the cellular tissue or parenchyma, which consists of 
numerous cells of various forms, with air spaces between 
to increase the surface exposed to the air and sunlight. 
There are about 25,000 of these breathing pores in each 
leaf, through which moisture and air are received, and 
vapor and carbonic acid given off. By this process the 
sap in the leaves is thickened, and the material of woody 
fiber elaborated. The wood of trees is chiefly carbon, 
which the leaves have absorbed from the air. Their ni- 
trogen comes from the combined influence of the air, the 
sun's light and heat, the humus of the soil, and the action 
of potash. Analysis of the ashes shows that a very small 
part of the constituents come from the soil. The air 
is an abundant storehouse of exhaustless capacity, full 
of the materials of plant growth, to which each culti- 
vator possesses a key. Every man and air-breathing 
animal on earth is helping to keep this atmospheric 
storehouse filled with the material of plant growth 
by every breath exhaled ; and so all animated creation 
is at work for the tiller of the soil. Not only are 
the leaves the laboratory of the growing wood, but 



STRUCTURE OF THE QUINCE TREE. 19 

also of the fruit. If we would have perfect fruit, we 
must have plenty of good healthy leaves to mature it. If 
diseases or insect enemies are allowed to deprive a tree of 
its leaves, the growth both of wood and fruit will suffer 
accordingly. 

The flower of the quince consists of a five-parted calyx, 
urn-shaped, of a green color ; a corolla of five pinkish 
colored petals, quite broad at the outer end, and five 
styles in the midst of many stamens that fructify the 
seeds. In exceptional cases there are six petals, and oc- 
casionally a semi-double blossom with ten. The seeds 
are in five large cells, in each of which are two rows 
of seeds, covered with a thick mucilage. The quince 
flowers in May, and sometimes a few flowers ap- 
pear in June. In exceptional seasons the quince, like 
other trees, will bloom in autumn. I had a young tree 
bloom full in the fall, that put out quite feebly the 
next spring, and died entirely the second year after. 

The fruit is either apple or pear shaped, and covered 
with a white down, that affords partial protection from 
insect enemies. If the quince is gathered before it is 
fully ripe it is very slow in coloring, and may never wear 
the rich golden yellow it would if left to mature as 
Nature intended. Though one of the hardest of all 
fruits, it is also one of the easiest bruised, and then most 
rapidly decays. Early ripening varieties are not as high 
flavored as the later, and much sooner decay. 

The life force or vital principle acts on the carbon, 
oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and mineral matters which 
are combined in the formation of the cellular structure 
of the tree in all its parts. The mystery of plant life is, 
that the germ in the seed has in it the organizing power 
that determines both the form and functions of the cells 
by which it builds up all its growth. Chemical analysis 
reveals the various elements and their proportions in the 
vegetable cell; but the utmost skill of the chemist, with 



20 QUINCE CULTURE. 

all his knowledge of matter, has never enabled him to so 
combine these elements as to produce and build up living 
organic matter from what comes to him without life. 



CHAPTER III. 
VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE. 

There is a difference of opinion among horticulturists 
as to what constitutes a variety. Some classify all the 
varieties as being either apple or pear quinces, without 
regard to the other differences. Others class as varieties 
all that show distinctive differences in their habits of 
growth, time of ripening their fruit, shape, and quali- 
ties of color, fragrance, and flavor. To the latter class 
the writer allies himself, and will be governed in his de- 
scriptions accordingly. 

Traveling over this country from east to west or from 
north to south, we find a great number of seedling 
varieties that have no distinctive names, but are called 
by their possessors after the well-known varieties from 
which they are supposed to have sprung, or which they 
most closely resemble. On this point Charles A. Green, 
of the *^ Fruit Grower," has well said : *^ Almost every- 
thing in the shape of a quince that is not known to be 
Angers or Champion is called Orange quince. The race 
of Orange quinces has sprung from numerous seedlings, 
and there are numerous types of it all over the country 
that vary in shape, size, quality, and dates of ripening. 
I have given this matter the closest attention, and find 
in my travels that the Orange quince is divided into 
many strains coming from different sources. Quinces 
have sprung up in gardens, have been planted, propa- 
gated, and called Orange quince, for the reason that they 



VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE. 21 

resembled that quince more closely than any other vari- 
ety. In many cases these are not Orange quinces, but 
seedlings that vary considerably. I do not doubt but 
that Meech's Quince is one of these variations of the 
Orange quince, of an improved type." 

In harmony with this view of Mr. Green, I first called 
this variety the Pear-shaped Orange Quince, and only 
consented to change it to Meech's Prolific when my hor- 
ticiiltural friends showed that it needed a different name 
to avoid being confounded with some of the other pear- 
shaped varieties. I have seen samples of half a dozen 
seedlings grown in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, each 
of which was clearly distinct in tree or fruit, or both. 
A seedling tree in Philadelphia bears a very pretty quince 
having the marks of the old Orange quince. At Jen- 
kintown, Pennsylvania, is a seedling tree growing more 
upright than its parent, but the fruit very closely re- 
sembles it. In Bridgeton, New Jersey, is a seedling that 
produces a beautiful specimen of the obscure pyriform of 
mild acid quality. In Millville, New Jersey, is a seed- 
ling shaped like an apple, except that it is very deeply 
ribbed from the blossom to the stem all around. In 
Vineland there are two good seedlings of the apple and 
pear shapes, and each of them an improvement on its 
ancestry. So, no doubt, close observers will find it all 
over the country. The fruit books and catalogues offer 
but a very short list of varieties. I here give, in alpha- 
betical order, the varieties of most importance, as now 
found in cultivation, with a few not very commonly found. 

1. Anger's Quince {Cijdoniavtdgaris). — This variety 
has a remarkably strong and vigorous root system, which 
has made it valuable as a stock for dwarfing the pear. 
The nurserymen of this country import large quantities 
of these stocks every year for this purpose ; and for the 
Champion quince, which succeeds better on them than 
on its own roots. - ~ 



22 



QUIl^CE CULTURE. 



In my experience the Angers has been very uncertain. 
Sometimes it is entirely barren, and then, again, bears 
abundantly. The fruit varies from the shape of the 
apple to the pear, having generally a modified form 




Fig. 2. 

ANGERS— THREE FORMS. 



between them. Sometimes it attains to a weight of 
twenty ounces. The fruit ripens quite late in the fall, 
and will keep well in a common cellar, like apples. The 
flesh is a little coarser than that of the Orange. 

2. Apple or Orange Quince {Cydonia vulgaris v. 
maliformis). This is generally known simply as the Orange 
quince. Some speak of the Apple quince as distinct from 
the Orange; but, as generally understood, they are one and 
the same variety. One old author speaks of the Orange 
and Angers as one and the same ; but he could hardly 
make a clearer mistake. The Orange variety is most 
cultivated in New York and New England, probably 
because of its early ripening. 

The old Orange quince tree is very readily distinguished 
by the trunk and larger limbs having very rough excres- 
cences all around them at very short intervals. The 
color of the leaves* and of the bark on young twigs is 
perceptibly lighter than on the other varieties, includ- 



VARIETIES OF THE QUIITCE. 



23 



ing seedlings. The strains of the Orange quince that 
have evidently sprung from its seeds, will generally be 
found to have smoother trunks, with deeper color of 
leaves and of the bark on the twigs. The shape of the 
fruit in the old Orange quince is like a Rhode Island 
Greening apple or a Fallawater. It is often broad- 
ened toward the stem, and occasionally shapes up to 
the stem like a Seckel pear. In some of the newer 
strains the whole body of the fruit is more elongated. 
The color is a rich orange, which is often marred by 
red spots as the fruit matures ; and when fully ripe 





Fi^^. 4.— ORANGE, OLD TYPE. 



Fi^. 5.— ORANGE, SEEDLING. 



these spots sink below the surface, and after a little 
while become centers of decay. This decay is frequently 
seen while the fruit is yet on the tree. The flesh is 
generally tender, and the flavor good, though not as 
high as in varieties that ripen later. This lack of high 
fl;ivor is much more noticeable in New Jersey and fur- 
ther South, where it ripens about the middle of Sep- 
tember, when the weather is hot, than in New York and 
further North, where it ripens later, and cooler weather 
brings the fruit to a higher perfection. 

The time of ripening in all places will vary with the 
variations of the season. Trees in very full bearing will 



24 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



take longer to perfect the fruit. I have seen a difference 
of two weeks, which was clearly attributable to this cause. 
A fair weight for the Orange quince is about half a pound; 
but in favorable circumstances it will come up to a pound, 
and has reached twenty-two ounces. In many parts of 
the United States it has long been the most popular 
variety, though some of the seedlings which bear this 
name are inferior. 

3. The Champion" Quince. — This variety is one of 
those but lately brought to public notice. It is described 




6.— CHAMPION 



as being "obscure pyriform, between the shape of an 
apple and a pear, with the stem inserted at the base of an 
unusually prominent lip, and inclined ; the skin a lively 
yellow, strongly russeted for a short distance around the 
stem ; calyx set in a remarkably deep and strongly corru- 
gated basin." The tree is very vigorous, and comes early 
into bearing. The fruit is larger than the Orange. It 
ripens later than any other quince, and has been grown 
to weigh twenty-four ounces. 



7ARIETIES OF THE QUINCE. 25 

It is especially difficult to propagate from its own cut- 
tings. The growing shoots have a yery dark color, which 
is peculiarly its own, and distinguishes it from others. 
It is unusually subject to blight in some parts of the 
country. In some sections it grows vigorously and bears 
abundantly, while in others it is a very moderate grower, 
and bears accordingly. 

4. Chinese Quince {Cydonia Sinensis) is a variety 
cultivated for ornament. In the Southern States it is in 
favor for its fruit, which sometimes attains a weight of 
two and a half pounds. I have found the quality good 
for a preserve, though the grain is a little coarse. The 
tree grows to the hight of thirty feet or more. The fo- 
liage assumes a beautiful red tint in autumn. The 
flowers are rosy red, with a violet odor. It blooms in 
May. The fruit is very large, smooth, oblong-oval, and 
of a greenish yellow. The flesh is firm; and when pre- 
served turns to a beautiful pink. It ripens late, and 
keeps a long time in sound condition. 

This quince was taken to Holland at the close of the 
last century, and to France in the beginning of this, 
and fruited in the Jardin du Roi in 1811. It proved 
hardy in Paris, but the season was short for its fruit to 
ripen well. It succeeds in the West Indies, and in the 
United States south of Maryland. To swell some cata- 
logues the Chinese quince trees have been called Hong 
Kong and Lutea. 

5. De Bourgeaut is a late French sort, described as 
" Feathered trees," and in appearance looks quite differ- 
ent from any other variety. 

6. FoNTENAY or New Upright.— This derives its 
name from its upright form. It is slender and branching, 
and forms small, compact trees. The bark is very light 
green. Its cuttings root very readily. It is used for stocks. 

7. Fuller Quince. — This new variety was discovered 
about twenty years ago by A. S. Fuller, at Ridgewood, 



26 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



Bergen County, N. J., on the grounds of a neighbor, 
from whom he obtained cuttings and propagated a few 
trees. The original tree was broken down and corn- 




Fig. 8. — FULLER. 

pletely destroyed by the workmen while building a new 
house, and but for the timely notice of Mr. Fuller would 
have been lost to the world. The beauty of the fruit, 



VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE. 2? 

when it assumed a rich golden yellow early in the season, 
was what first arrested Mr. Fuller's attention. "It is 
large and uniformly pear-shaped, occasionally with a long 
slender neck, not larger than a man's thumb. Flesh 
fine-grained, with very little of the usual grittiness com- 
mon to the quince." Dr. Thurber adds to these points 
of Mr. Fuller's description, that the surface is somewhat 
ridged, that the calyx is set in a deep, wide basin, and 
that the flesh is remarkably tender and well-flavored. 
The specimen figured weighed nineteen ounces. 

8. The Japanese Quij^ce {Cydonia Japonica) is the 
well-known flowering quince of our gardens, and is con- 
spicuous in early spring for its brilliant flowers. It is a 
thorny, straggling, and bushy plant, sending up numerous 
suckers, which admirably adapt it for forming hedges, for 
which purpose it is often used. The fruit is generally 
elliptical, but often resembles a peach. The color is 
greenish yellow, often with blushing cheeks. The flesh 
is very hard and firm, but strongly aromatic. The jelly 
made from it is excellent. It will flavor two or three 
times its own bulk of other fruits. The scarlet flowers 
of the Japonica, as they open among the first blossoms 
of spring, are unsurpassed in their brilliancy and the 
charm they impart. 

9. Meech's Prolific Quince. — This variety is the 
most uniformly prolific of all known varieties. So far 
as 1 have been able to trace its history, it originated in 
Connecticut over thirty years ago, and was slightly dis- 
tributed under the name of the Orange quince, or with- 
out any specific name. Some trees were taken to New 
York, Ohio, and New Jersey, but no general attention 
was attracted to its merits until the stock came into the 
hands of the author, who, after testing it beside other 
sorts, published in 1883 an article in the American 
Agriculturist, describing it under the name of the Pear- 
shaped Orange Quince. The article attracted the atten- 



28 QUIN"CE CULTURE. 

tion of the venerable Charles Downing, who wrote 
that he judged, from the description, it was a new va- 
riety, in which opinion he was fully confirmed by a 
subsequent examination of the fruit. He expressed, his 
belief not only that it was ''an acquisition to the quince 




MEECH'S PKOLIFIC. 



family," but *^ worthy of general cultivation." So far as 
tested, it has justified his good opinion. 

The trees of this variety are exceedingly vigorous, 
fully equaling, if not exceeding, the Angers. The trunk 
is smooth, and entirely free from the excrescences of some 
other kinds. The bark of the young twigs is darker than 



VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE. 29 

that of the Orange, and is beautifully flecked with len- 
ticelles. The leaves are very broad in proportion to their 
length, and of a deep shade of green. The blossoms 
are very large. The buds have been substituted for 
those of the rose in floral designs with happy effect. It 
is not uncommon for one year old trees to blossom in the 
nursery rows, and occasionally bear fruit to ripeness. 
Such trees, after being transplanted, have uniformly 
borne every year after, so that I could show the horti- 
cultural wonder of fruit on every age from one to twelve 
years. 

The fruit is obscure pyriform, very large, of a bright 
golden yellow, exceedingly fragrant, and of high flavor. 
The skin is of a very fine texture. The cup of the stem 
end is very small, and often entirely wanting ; that of 
the blossom end is not as large as in most other varieties, 
and is less corrugated. The superiority of the fruit in 
crates or cans has been well proved by the highest prices 
in the home markets as well as in the large cities. 
The time of ripening, early in October, has been found to 
suit all classes by coming to the tradesman and consumer 
between the earliest and latest, when the season favors 
its highest perfection. It has weighed as high as eighteen 
ounces on full-bearing trees, though twelve to fifteen is 
a good size, giving seventeen fruits to the rounded peck. 
A Frenchman has this in his catalogue: '' Meech's 
ProZ^^c— Remarkable for its productiveness, uniformity 
in size, regularity in bearing, and superior quality. It 
meets every requirement of a perfect quince." 

10. Missouri Mammoth Quince.— This variety origi- 
nated in Massachusetts. It was carried to Ohio, and 
from there to Kansas City, Missouri, by J. M. Slocum, 
who sold the stock to S. C. Palmer, by whom it has been 
disseminated. After being tested some twelve or fifteen 
years, it was accepted with so much favor as to receive 
the commendation of the Missouri Valley Horticultural 



30 QUINCE CULTURE. 

Society, and from that Society received its name. The 
description of the tree is, that it is a healthy and vigor- 
ous grower, very productive, and a regular bearer ; that 
*'when planted at one year old, and well handled, it 
will bear in five years," and *' after it comes well into 




Fig. 10.— MISSOURI MAMMOTH. 

bearing the yield is from one to two bushels per tree." 
The fruit, which '* ripens about the time of the Orange, 
is very large, pyriform in shape, and very rich and 
aromatic." The stem is set in a broad basin, and the 
cup of the blossom end is deeply corrugated. 

11. Musk or Pineapple Quince, — This is an old 



VARIETIES OF THE QUINCE. 



31 



variety, that produces a large frnit, but is now discarded. 
It had its celebrity in this country fifty years ago. The 
Musk was one of the sorts spoken of by Columella. 

12. Pear Quince {Cydonia vulgaris y. oUo7iga). — It 
receives its name from being shaped like a pear, oblong, 
and tapering to the stem. The fruit is yellow, the flesh 
a little darker than the Orange, and much tougher, be- 
coming woody around the core. It is of medium size, 
and though one of the oldest, is also one of the poorest 
varieties. It ripens much later than the Orange. Its 





Fig. 11.— PEAR. 



Fig. 12.— PORTUGAL. 



chief excellence is its high flavor. It is now little culti- 
vated, better sorts taking its place. 

13. The Portugal Quince {Cydonia vulgaris v. 
Lusitanica) is the earliest ripening of all the varieties, 
being ten days earlier than the Orange quince. It is 
not a visrorous gfrower, but has been used for stocks. The 
leaf is a little longer and wider in proportion than the 
Orange quince. The trunk and branches are peculiarly 
marked by excrescences as smooth as those on the old 
Orange are rough. The fruit is large, a little oblong, 
tapering from the middle each way, like a Kieffer pear. 



32 



QUINCE CULTURE. 




The quality is excellent. When cooked the flesh turns 
purple or crimson. The color of this variety is a very 
bright yellow. The reason it is so little cultivated is 
that it is so shy a bearer. 

14. Eea's Seedling, or Rea's Mammoth, was raised 

by Joseph Rea, of Coxsac- 
kie, Greene County, N. Y. 
It is believed to be a seed- 
ling of the Orange, though 
in shape it is obscure pyri- 
form. It ripens later than 
the Orange, and keeps 
very well after ripening. 
Tlie flavor is excellent. 
It has attained a weight 
of twenty-two ounces in 

T,. ,o , ^ew Jersev's sandy soil. 

Fig. 13.— rea's. _, . -\^ . f 

To attain full size the tree 
needs high culture with good thinning. But for the 
tenderness of the trees in some localities, this variety 
must have reached a much wider dissemination. 

15. The Sweet Quince. — This variety is so named 
because the fruit is mildly acid and not very astringent. 
The tree is a good grower and bears abundantly. T. B. 
Jenkins, of Ghambersburg, Penn., says this variety was 
raised from seed about 1830, and has been a regular 
bearer. The fruit is described as being medium to 
large, roundish oblate, and somewhat ribbed ; color yel- 
low, but not so bright as the Orange. The stem is set 
in a broad, dull brown, and rough, knob-like projection, 
while the calyx has large, long segments, set in a deep 
basin much corrugated. The flesh is firm and of a deep 
yellow, coarse grained, a little tough, and not very juicy. 



SOILS FOR THE QUINCE. 33 

CHAPTER IV. 
SOILS FOR THE QUINCE. 

There is a diversity of opinion as to what kind of soil is 
best suited for the quince. One class of observers, wl\o 
have seen this frnit growing in high perfection in the rich 
accumulations washed down from the hill-sides for ages, 
iusist on a moist or alluvial soil. Others, with a suc- 
cessful experience in a light sandy loam, may favor that. 
Others still, observing that quinces grow successfully on 
all kinds of soil, except dry sand or wet swamps, would 
plant it anywhere, from the low lands along the sea-coast, 
or margins of lakes and ponds, streams and rivers, to the 
higher plains and table-lands, or on the hill-sides and 
hill-tops of quite elevated locations. 

This fruit has attained high perfection in the moun- 
tain regions of Georgia, and North and South Carolina. 
J. Van Buren, of Clarksville, Georgia, says : " It is not 
unusual to raise quinces five to five and a half inches in 
diameter, fair, smooth, and beautiful, and of high flavor." 

The quince adapts itself to different soils and circum- 
stances with remarkable success. The soil may have 
a preponderance of sand, gravel, or clay, and yet be rich 
in those fertilizing materials which adapt it to all wants. 
An analysis of the wood, bark, and fruit will show that 
the soil and atmosphere together have supplied it with 
potash and lime, soda and silica, alum and iron, mag- 
nesia and chlorine, phosphoric, sulphuric, and carbonic 
acids, and moisture. To these add decaying animal and 
vegetable matter, with needed water, light, heat, elec- 
tricity, and the aerial gases, and we have the perfection 
of fertility. A heavy clay soil will be improved by the 
addition of sand or silica, because it will make it warmer, 
and more open and friable. A light, sandy soil, will be 



34 QUINCE CULTURE. 

made better by the addition of clay or alumina, because 
it will make it more compact and retentive of moisture. 
Lime and chalk will produce effects intermediate be- 
tween the silica and alumina. The mechanical condition 
will be found quite as important as the chemical constitu- 
tion of the soil. When the mineral elements of fertility 
near the surface become too much reduced or exhausted 
by long cultivation, it will be helpful to work the soil 
deeper, bringing up the reserve forces ; or by the addi- 
tion of a perfect fertilizer, the growth will go forward 
with success. 

In selecting soils, the first choice should be a strong 
loam, with enough sand in its composition to make 
it work easy. In a deep, strong soil the trees should 
not be expected to come into as early bearing as in 
the sandy soil, because the greater vigor of growth 
does not so soon tend to the formation of fruit buds ; 
but when they do bear they make up for any lost time 
by the abundance and quality of the fruit, and greater 
longevity, and immunity from disease. A gravelly loam, 
if not too gravelly, is the second choice, because it comes 
the nearest to the first in all the more desirable qualities. 
A light, sandy soil is the next choice. It is a very de- 
sirable soil on many accounts ; and where it has a clayey 
subsoil, as in my Vineland orchard, excellent results may 
be attained. It is not every one who can have his choice 
of soils, and it must suffice to use the very best available. 
After an experience of over twelve years with a light, 
sandy loam, I am well satisfied with its advantages. It 
is easily worked, yields excellent returns, and maintains 
a healthy growth. The clayey soil is chiefly objectionable 
on account of its being often too wet and heavy. Where 
the clay is not in excess, this soil is capable of being 
drained and otherwise improved, so as to give promise of 
good results. If only the proper cultivation be given, 
any soil that will yield good crops of corn and potatoes 



SOILS FOR THE QUIIfCE. 35 

may be used for the quince. This is especially true all 
along the sea-coast of the New England and the Middle 
States. 

In many sections of the country, soils of all these 
varieties will be found along the rivers. There will be, 
first, the alluvial of the river basin in a strip along the 
river bank, varying in width, and overflowed every year 
by freshets, which leave it more or less enriched by silt. 
Then, secondly, there will be the belt of sandy soil, 
usually a rich loam, suited for almost every kind of crop. 
Back of this, and rising on the hill-side, is the more 
sandy and gravelly land, of variable quality, and more 
affected by droughts. The middle belt is preferable for 
the quince, as, indeed, it is for most other crops. But 
on them all the quince will succeed by skilful manage- 
ment. 

The quality of the fruit on a wet soil is much more 
woody and astringent than on a rich and well-drained soil. 
A wet soil is always inimical to successful fruit culture. 
If for any cause it is desired to plant trees where a wet 
and heavy soil cannot be properly drained, the ground 
should be raised enough for the surplus water to pass off ; 
though it is doubtful whether any amount of drainage 
can make a spot so situated profitable for this purpose. 
Excessive moisture is as bad as want of water. 

A soil that is too dry will retain needed moisture in 
the heat of summer by being well cultivated. A hard 
and shallow soil, by being worked deep, and thoroughly 
mellowed, will resist drought successfully. But if the sub- 
soil be clayey we must not deepen so as to make the soil 
hold water like a basin. In deepening a clay soil very 
much we may necessitate drainage. Water-soaked roots 
are no better for the health of the tree than wet feet are 
for the health of man. 



36 QUIN^CE CULTLKE. 

CHAPTER V. 
MANURES FOR THE QUINCE. 

Whatever can be used to increase the fertility of the 
soil by supplying plant food is a manure. The chemical 
analysis of any plant will show its constituents, and give 
the relative proportion of each, and so serve as a guide 
in supplying what that plant needs. About nine-tenths 
are water and air ; the rest is made up of earths and 
metals, as lime, clay, iron, magnesia, silex, potash, and 
soda, with gases and combustibles, as oxygen, hydrogen, 
nitrogen, chlorine, carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus. 
In the process of growth the plant selects such of these 
as its nature demands ; and when it dies and decays it 
restores to the earth these elements of fertility. 

Artificial fertilizers are made by mechanically com- 
bining in desired proportions the elements of plant food, 
to supply any deficiency of the soil under cultivation. 
The action of any manure depends on its soluble salts. 
" The salts contain the sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon, 
as sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, and carbonic acid, 
and the chlorine as muriatic acid." 

All animal and vegetable matters in the process of 
decomposition form ammonia. It is estimated that the 
annual rainfall on an acre brings to the soil enough 
ammonia and nitric acid from the air to equal one hun- 
dred pounds of guano. The soil, to get the full benefit 
of this atmospheric manure, must be kept porous to 
receive it, and well drained that it may not run off on its 
surface. When fire consumes vegetation, its gases return 
to the air, leaving as ashes the earthy matters drawn from 
the soil. In the process of decomposition the result is 
the same, only the combustion is slower. 

Wood ashes contain all the elements of plant food ex- 
cept nitrogen. Two and a half tons of seasoned hard 



MANUEES FOR THE QUINCE. 37 

wood yield a bushel of ashes. In one hundred pounds 
of such ashes tliere are about sixteen pounds of potash, 
which is needful to good fruit. There are next three 
and a half pounds of soda, five and a quarter pounds of 
phosphoric acid, and sixty-seven pounds of lime and 
magnesia. A mixture of one part ashes with three parts 
of chip dirt is an excellent top dressing for the orchard. 
When the needed potash can not be had in wood ashes, 
a substitute may be made of the muriate or the sulphate 
of potash. Nitrate of soda and muriate of potash im- 
prove the quality of acid fruits. Lime is valuable in 
most soils by its solvent effects on the silica they con- 
tain. If lime be found in the ashes of a plant, it will be 
valuable as a fertilizer of that plant ; and such is the 
case with all hard wood trees like the quince. It also 
improves the fruit. 

Salt is so valuable to the quince, that it must be con- 
sidered indispensable to its highest success. I no longer 
think of raising quinces without salting every spring 
before the trees begin to grow. I have learned not only 
to salt my quince trees, but my pear trees as well. It 
does them good not only in promoting a healthy growth, 
but I think acts as a preventive of the blight, to which 
both are subject. It may do this by its chlorine or by 
its soda, or by both combined, through the spongioles of 
the roots effecting a change in the sap and the wood. 
We know not how, but have found the effect favorable. 
Besides these effects it also promotes fruitf ulness. I sowed 
about three quarts (the quantity for a tree large enough 
to bear a bushel) around a barren tree early one spring, 
and the year after it bore well, and so continued from 
year to year. Quince trees along the sea-coast may be 
expected to do well. Trees at Newport, Rhode Island, 
that were set for screens in exposed places, yielded ex- 
cellent crops of very fine quinces. Salt acts as a solvent 
of other materials of fertility locked up in the soil. In 



38 QUINCE CULTURE. 

land fertilized a long time with superphosphates, there 
is an accumulation of fertilizing material that salt makes 
available. The lime and phosphoric acid lock up what 
the salt liberates. As good results were obtained with 
one quarter salt and three quarters phosphate, "as from 
all phosphate without the salt. The salt and phosphate 
in equal parts produced a fine crop of corn on a mucky 
soil. Two hundred pounds of salt on three-fourths of 
an acre gave me the best crop of German millet I ever 
grew. It will be found valuable with quinces, pears, 
plums, peaches, and apples. 

Heavy soils will usually be found to contain enough 
potash, but in an insoluble condition. Ordinarily a 
good top dressing of salt will make this potash available 
to promote a fruitful condition. The German potash 
salt, kainit, and muriate of potash will be found service- 
able to most orchards. Nitrogenous manures stimulate 
the growth of leaves more than the fruit. The mineral 
manures, such as potash and salt, aid most in perfecting 
the fruit, especially the seeds, the thing of greatest effort 
in Nature's laboratory. 

The value of any fertilizer is determined by the amount 
of potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen it contains. 
Nitrogen is expensive as an ingredient in the commercial 
fertilizer, and if it can be obtained free from the air, it 
will be a very great saving to us. 

"The atmosphere is chiefly composed of oxygen and 
nitrogen ; and water, of oxygen and hydrogen ; and as 
there is always in the air more or less water, the element 
hydrogen is always present. Now under certain circum- 
stances, the nitrogen and hydrogen combine in the air and 
form ammonia. The oxygen and hydrogen in the air are 
supposed not to be united in a chemical combination, but 
to form merely a mixture. Hence this nitrogen is called 
the free nitrogen of the air, as distinguished from that in 
ammonia, which is not free." 



MANURES FOR THE QUINCE. 39 

Accepting the theory of the chemists, that '^ somehow 
or other plants take nitrogen from the air," it is probable 
that they take it in the form of ammonia, and not as 
free nitrogen. But free or combined, it is evident from 
experience that most soils will be improved by the appli- 
cation of a quantity beyond all that is supplied from the 
air. The fact that the leaves of plants absorb gases should 
convince us that they may take nitrogen, either free or 
combined, though it does not combine very readily with 
other substances. Lawes and Gilbert, from experiments 
conducted under glass, concluded that plants could not 
take up the free nitrogen of the air. Professor Atwood, 
from experiments conducted in the open air, arrived at 
the opposite conclusion. 

The supply of phosphoric acid from ground bones is 
never out of place in the quince orchard ; and if the 
bones are first treated with sulphuric acid, their action 
will be more speedy. Bones in lye, or hard wood ashes 
kept wet for a very long time, will become useful without 
grinding, as they soften and crumble. 

The quince is a great feeder, and has the faculty of 
using all kinds of manures. When I plant trees I fill 
the large holes with rich earth. The chip dirt of the 
wood pile mixed with the top soil of the hole is good. 
The surface soil of the poultry-yard to the depth of two 
or three inches is excellent. Road wash from the gutters 
of the highway does well ; and better still are the glean- 
ings of the street gutters of the village. Trees well set in 
these rich earths grow well to a bearing age, when they 
should be annually supplied with plenty of good manure. 
Their annual growth is a safe guide to needed treatment. 
If the shoots grow less than a foot every year, they need 
feeding or pruning, and probably both. Manure may 
be applied to the trees by all the usual methods at 
any season of the year, but better in the fall and spring 
than late in summer. Old and feeble trees have been 



40 QUINCE CULTURE. 

rejuvenated by liberal manuring combined with judicious 
pruning. A feeble or a starved tree, if it bear at all, will 
only yield small fruit of indifferent quality. As much 
as ten bushels of salt may be sown on an acre if the soil 
is good ; but a poor soil will not bear heavy salting with- 
out injury. 

Many will not be able to secure all the manure they 
need from common sources, and will of necessity have 
recourse to chemical fertilizers. To such I would recom- 
mend ammonia, about three per cent (the sulphate of 
ammonia may be bought, of twenty-five per cent purity); 
phosphoric acid, about ten per cent, equal to phosphate 
of hme twenty per cent ; potash, about twelve per cent, 
equal to sulphate of potash twenty-two per cent ; salt 
(chloride of sodium), about ten per cent, and lime five 
per cent, with about three per cent of magnesia. If 
they are not in the soil, add a little silica and iron. If 
the soil is heavy and clayey, the rest of the mixture may 
be sand or silica. If it is sandy, then muck will be found 
excellent. If the soil is in good proportions, these va- 
rious fertilizers may be applied without being mixed, in 
quantities according to the judgment of the horticul- 
turist. Full-bearing trees will be benefited by an in- 
crease in the amount of potash, as the fruit contains a 
much larger proportion of this than the wood. Decayed 
vegetable matter, or humus, in the soil acts as a solvent 
of all its mineral elements to make them available as 
plant food, especially the potash. Cotton-seed meal, with 
the addition of a little phosphoric acid and potash, is 
a good manure ; but the cost will be considerably re- 
duced by feeding the meal to cattle and using the 
manure. 



LOCATION, TRENCHING, ETC. 41 

CHAPTER VI. 
LOCATION— TRENCHING-DRAINAGE-CLTLTIVATION. 

Location. — The planter should select the best spot 
at his command. In deciding which is best, he will 
need to consider well the kinds of soil as well as their 
location, and secure the greatest number of the conditions 
of success. If his valley is wet and subject to frost, he 
must go up on the hill-side, and, if need be, plant on the 
hill-top. 

As to aspects, any may be selected when the other 
conditions are equally favorable. A northern aspect is 
to be preferred, where the season is long enough to insure 
the ripening of the fruit, because it is safer from late 
spring frosts. In the Middle and Southern States this 
will generally be the case. A southwest exposure will 
have advantages at the North, because, when there is a 
frost, the morning sun will be more gradual in its effects. 
For a like reason, trees near a large body of water escape 
frost by its ameliorating influence ; and in case of frosts, 
the slight fogs that may rise soften the rays of the 
morning sun enough to prevent the injury of a sudden 
thaw. On the banks of a small stream in a deep ravine 
would be a bad location almost anywhere in the Northern 
States, because of the danger from frost. 

Trenching. — One of the objects of trenching is to 
improve a soil that is too sandy by the admixture of clay 
from a suitable subsoil beneath it. If the subsoil is not 
clayey, then the surface soil must be improved by clay 
top -dressings and the coarser manures. If farm-yard 
manure has been composted with peat, swamp muck, or 
river mud, it is all the better. The trenching may be 
done either by the spade or the ploAv. If done by hand, 
go down twice the depth of the spade, and the work will 



42 QUINCE CULTUKE. 

be efficient. If done with a plow, the furrow slice 
should be narrow, that the whole of the ground may be 
thoroughly pulverized very deep. Where we find a light 
sandy or mucky soil on a compact subsoil, it may be well 
to cross-plow, the more thoroughly to mingle the two 
together. 

Drain-age. — Whenever it is found best to underdrain, 
the method should depend on facilities. Where there are 
plenty of cobblestones, it is a good plan to place them in a 
suitable ditch, and cover them so as to leave the surface 
much as it was before the drain was dug. This will be best 
in many parts of the country. In sections destitute of 
such material, tiles become a necessity. The ditch is better 
made between the rows of trees, so as to be reached only 
by the smaller roots ; and for the same reason it is well 
to cover the joints of the tile. Three feet may be deep 
enough; but always make sure that the fall to the outlet 
is sufficient to carry out the water. Land that needs 
draining at all is never likely to be made too dry by good 
nnderdrains between the rows of trees. Some prefer 
open drains to tile or cobblestone. If proper drainage 
has not been secured before the planting of the trees, it 
will pay to do it afterward. The drains, however, must 
always be so placed as to carry off the water. 

Cultivation. — The importance of thorough cultiva- 
tion for this fruit can not be too well understood. Clean 
culture is helpful in avoiding the borers, because it leaves 
no weeds and grass around the tree to make a shelter for 
them. If the ground is stirred often, besides keeping 
it free from weeds, it will absorb a much larger por- 
tion of nitrogen from the air, and so be enriched. The 
atmosphere presses it into the soil with a weight equal to 
a column of water thirty-three feet high; and if it is con- 
stantly kept pulverized its power of absorption is greatly 
increased, and it is much less affected by drought. 

The quantity of water evaporated from a soil well 



LAYING OUT THE OKCHARD. 



43 



tilled is surprisingly less than from a like soil untilled. 
The experiments at the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- 
lege, with a light sandy soil stirred four inches deep, 
showed an evaporation of 542 barrels of water in seven 
days from an acre, while a like soil undisturbed evapo- 
rated 1,276 barrels a week ; a saving of nearly 105 barrels 
a day. A heavy clay soil cultivated four inches deep 
evaporated 904 barrels an acre, while 1,020 barrels were 
lost from a similar acre undisturbed during the week ; a 
saving of about 17 barrels a day by cultivation. Similar 
experiments in New York at the Experiment Station 
showed similar results. The crops that have been pro- 
duced on a poor soil by most thoroughly working it are 
a demonstration of its great value to all crops. It may 
be well to stir the surface every week of the growing 
season. 



CHAPTER VII. 



LAYING OUT THE ORCHARD. 



It is desirable to have the trees of an orchard in 
straight rows, not only for beauty, but for convenience 

^ ^\ 




Fig. 14, — LAYING OUT IN SQUARES. 

in cultivation. If the rows are begun crooked, the diffi- 
culty will increase as the planting progresses ; but if the 



44 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



first row is straight, and the distance from tree to tree 
equal, ths added rows are easil}? made to correspond. 

The two methods of laying out an orchard are in 
squares, and in triangles and hexagons, commonly called 




Fig. 15,— LAYING OUT IN QUINCUNX. 

quincunx. Most orchards are laid out in squares, but 
in equilateral triangles the ground will hold about one- 
seventh more trees at the same distance apart. There is 
no way to set as maay equidistant trees on an acre as in 
equilateral triangles. To lay out the ground in squares, 
the first thing is to form a right angle, which will be in- 



cluded between two lines six and 



eight 



feet lonff, con- 




16.— QUINCUNX BY CIRCLES. 



nected by a third line ten feet long, as shown in the figure. 
Having formed this right angle, the extension of the six 
and eight feet lines will show where the rows of trees 
are to be planted at any desired distance. Parallel lines 
will show where to plant the successive rows till the 



LAYING OUT THE ORCHARD. 



45 



whole plot is planted. A ten-foot pole may be used in- 
stead of a line or cord to lay out the angle. If exact 
measurements are made there will be little need of 
sighting the rows. 

The quincunx plan is simply to lay out the orchard m 
equilateral triangles. Whatever distance be decided on 




Fig. 17.— FIXED MAEKER. Fig. 18.— ADJUSTABLE MARKER. 

between the trees will be the length of the radius of a 
circle, which can be easily swept with a cord of that 
length, or by a marker for this purpose. The fixed raark- 
'er is made by nailing two light strips to stakes the width 
apart for the distance from tree to tree. The adjustable 
marker has one of the stakes 
movable on a bar, and fast- 
ened with a key at any de- 
sired distance. 

I have found no way so 
convenient as to make a tri- 
angle of narrow boards the 
desired length, nailed at the 
ends, and with braces from 
each point to the middle of 
the opposite side, fastening 
well at the intersections. Having a base line, I move 
this triangle along from one tree to another, making 
holes and setting trees at the points. Repeat the oper- 
ation for each row till the trees are all planted. 

Besides the gain of about one row in seven over squares, 




Fig. 19.— MOVABLE TRIANGLE. 



46 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



the quincunx plan allows of cultivation all ways, which 
keeps the ground in fine condition with the least labor. 
Laid out in squares fifteen feet apart, an acre will take 




Fig. 20. — LOCATING BOABD. 

two hundred trees ; in quincunx, at the same distance, it 
will take two hundred and twenty-two trees. At twelve 
feet in squares it will take three hundred and two, and 




Fig. 21. — LOCATING BOARD IN USE. 

in quincunx three hundred and seventy. At ten feet in 
squares it will take four hundred and thirty-five, and in 
quincunx four hundred and ninety- seven trees for an acre. 



TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. 47 

After the peg is placed for the location of the tree, it 
will be found convenient, when the triangle is not used, 
to have a board seven or eight feet long with a notch on 
one side in the middle and a hole at each end equidistant 
from the notch. Place the board so that the notch will 
receive the peg, and stick a pin through each hole. Lift 
the board, leaving the pins, and dig the hole for the 
tree. Replace the board on the pins, and set the tree in 
the notch, and it will be sure to stand where the marking 
peg was driven. With pins enough to do this, the entire 
orchard may be laid out before a tree is set. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. 

No part of culture is more important than transplant- 
ing, and, as generally practised, none is done so badly, or 
with less regard to the principles involved. The digging 
often robs the tree of nearly all its fibrous roots, and the 
planting crowds what few are left into the smallest hole 
that will hold them ; so that, between the careless digger, 
and the thoughtless planter, the tree dies ; or, if it lives, 
makes a feeble growth, and never affords satisfaction to 
any one. 

How and when to transplant are the two chief points 
on which depend success or failure. In taking up a tree 
great care is necessary to preserve all its roots, large and 
small. If every root and rootlet could be preserved in- 
tact, and then well placed in the new location, there would 
be but little check to its growth. The nearer we come 
to this the better the prospect of success. The length 
of the roots being reckoned equal to the hight of the 
tree, we can tell about how far from the base of the tree 



48 



QUINCE CULTUEE. 



we should begin to dig to get under the outer portion of 
its roots. What is commonly called a forked spade is 
the best implement I have used, as it does not cut the 
roots, and bruises them but little. The digger should 
stand with his side toward the tree, and this fork will 
then go down so as to lift the roots entire, by work- 
ing from the outer ends to the tree. The larger share 
of fibrous roots will be found comparatively near the 
surface. 

As soon as the tree is dug, earth must be thrown over 




Fig. 22. 

GOOD AND BAD DIGGING. 



Fig. 23. 



its roots to keep them from drying by sun or wind. A 
cloudy day is desirable, and is all the better if damp and 
without wind. 

If the tree has been raised from seed it will have a tap- 
root ; but if from a cutting there will be only laterals to 
care for. If any roots are bruised or broken in digging, 
it will be well to pare off the bruised parts smoothly, and 
cut the ends of broken roots with a slant upward, so 
that the callus formed will emit roots downward from 
these cut ends. 

The hole for the tree should be about two spades deep, 



TRANSPLANTING THE QUINCE. 49 

and wider than the roots are long. In most soils it pays 
to dig a hole from four to six feet across to plant a one 
.year old tree, and still wider for older trees. Throw out 
the subsoil by itself, and either spread it around on the 
surface, to be acted on by sun, rain, and frost, or to be re- 
moved for other uses. The top soil is then filled into the 
bottom of the hole, and the tree set on this so as to be a 
little deeper than it was before. Fill in among the roots 
with rich soil rather than manure ; for though it may be 
well rotted, it will be generally too dry, and if fresh will 
injure by the fungi it produces. Eich manuring on the 
top of the ground after the tree is planted will promote 
a vigorous growth. When the hole is nearly filled, a 
very liberal mulch of leaves, straw, or any such material 
should be well spread in, and covered up with earth. It 
will prevent the tree from suffering in drought, promote 
the absorption of nitrogen from the air, and by rotting 
become a good fertilizer. If the tree has large roots, 
great care is needed to insure them against hollows that 
produce decay. A little water may be needed to make 
sure that the earth presses against every part. After 
the operation is well performed, watering on the surface 
will not be needed, as the mulch prevents evaporation. 
If so watered at transplanting as to get the earth well 
pressed against the roots, and then properly mulched, 
trees will never need watering again, except by natural 
rains. 

How much room to give the quince depends on cir- 
cumstances and surroundings, and the form of head de- 
sired. Such writers as Cole, Thomas, and Downing rec- 
ommend six, eight, ten, and twelve feet apart. I have 
tried them all, and decided on fifteen feet as being close 
enough for the highest success. By studying the possi- 
bilities of this fruit, we must decide how wide we will 
plant. Sometimes a quince tree exceeds all expectation. 
In 1857 there was a quince tree near Geneva, New York, 



50 QUrKCE CULTURE. 

that was thirty feet high, with a trunk six feet around, 
and had branches extending over a circle seventy-five 
feet in circumference. It was thought to be the largest 
quince tree on record. I have read of a tree on a thorn 
root that produced five bushels a year. On this root 
the quince is long-lived. But I have seen the trees 
over sixty years old on their own roots, and still bearing 
well. 

The size of a tree most desirable for transplanting 
must necessarily vary with circumstances. As a rule, 
young and thrifty trees will grow best, because they lose 
a smaller proportion of their fibrous roots. Large trees 
are more likely to be checked by transplanting, because 
of the greater loss of roots. If the tree to be trans- 
planted has not been cut back so as to reduce the top to 
a good proportion with the roots before being set, it 
must not be forgotten afterward, as much depends on 
this. If there has been a great loss of roots, as is often 
the case, it is better to reduce the top very severely, 
perhaps to one or two buds of the new wood. The tree 
will be larger at the end of the season's growth, and of 
better form. 

A suitable preparation of the ground is more conven- 
iently made before the trees are planted. No pains 
should be spared to so prepare the ground that it will 
exactly supply every want of the trees, and at once push 
them into a vigorous growth. If not well prepared 
then, no after labor can fully supply the deficiency. 
The importance of thorough work was illustrated by the 
experience of a man who had a hundred trees to set, and 
going from home for a day, left a man to plant them in 
his absence. Returning at night, he was offended with 
his help because he had only set nine of the hundred. 
So he discharged him, and next day planted the ninety- 
one remaining himself. But, to his surprise, when they 
bore, the crop from the nine was worth more than that 



TRANSPLAJfTIJ^G THE QUINCE. 



51 



of the ninety-one. In tree planting, as elsewhere, '* haste 
makes waste." If worth doing at all, it is worth doing 
right. 

The quince should not be planted in grain or grass, 
and especially a clover sod. Lovn^, hoed crops, like beans 
or turnips, can be cultivated among the trees when small, 
because their culture necessitates fertilizing and stirring 
the ground ; but as soon as the trees get large, nothing 
else should be allowed to grow among them. If the 
roots happen to get frozen while above ground, they will 
die if thawed in the air ; but if buried in the soil, and 





Fig. 24. Fig 25. 

TWO METHODS OF HEELING. 

allowed to thaw there, they will live and grow. To 
freeze and thaw in the earth does them no apparent harm. 
If a tree has become dry and shriveled in transpor- 
tation, its plumpness may be restored by burying both 
top and roots for a few days ; but if put in water, it 
may become water-soaked, and so fail. The stem and 
branches of a newly transplanted tree may be greatly 
benefited by watering before the leaves appear, especially 
when there has been much loss of the roots. "When the 
trees come to the planter from a nursery, it is best to 
heel them in at once ; for there is no way in which they 
can be kept so well as in the earth. Once properly 
heeled in, the planter can take time to plant each tree. 



52 QUINCE CULTURE. 

Trees received in the fall for spring planting can be 
kept in this way in good condition, and will be ready to 
pla,nt earlier than where the planter waits till spring be- 
fore ordering them, because in the hurry of spring work 
some must necessarily wait. 

If trees are heeled-in in bundles, those inside are not 
I)ressed by the earth, and become dry. If the trees slope 
toward the south, they will not thaw out as soon in 
spring, as the tips shade the ground toward the sun. 
Heeling-in erect is only recommended where there is 
danger from mice. The place for heeling-in should be 
high enough to secure freedom from all danger of the 
trees becoming water-soaked. A sheltered situation is 
most desirable. 



CHAPTER IX. 

WHEN TO TRANSPLANT— KEEPING A RECORD— EF- 
FECTS OF WINDS— STRAIGHTENING TREES. 

The best season to transplant is when the sap is compar- 
atively dormant, between the fall of the leaves in autumn 
and the development of the buds in spring. To decide in- 
telligently what is the best time to transplant we should, 
as far as possible, take into account the various agents 
that influence vegetation, such as the relative warmth of 
the soil and atmosphere, and the mildness or severity of 
the climate in winter. Then, again, the nature of the 
soil will be an important consideration, as also the facility 
for doing the work in the best manner. 

The greatest difference between the mean temperature 
of the earth and the air is in October, w-hen the earth a foot 
below the surface is from a degree to a degree and a half 



WHEIT TO TRAN^SPLAITT, ETC. 53 

above the mean temperature of the air. Some soils are 
much warmer than others, and serve as a natural hot-bed 
for the roots of the newly-set tree, eucouraging the for- 
mation of a callus on cut and bruised roots as well as the 
emission of many new roots, and so preparing for a 
vigorous start in the spring, as well as a successful win- 
tering. The greater cold of the air prevents the buds 
from starting until the warmth of spring, when vegeta- 
tion generally becomes active. 

Where the climate is too cold for the newly-set 
trees to carry forward the healing of cut and bruised 
roots, which is the case where winter sets in early, and 
the ground freezes as deep as the roots extend, there will 
be great danger from fall planting. The freezing and 
thawing of all heavy soils operates greatly to tlie disad- 
vantage of all newly-planted trees. In warm, dry, and 
sandy soils, if the setting is well done any time before 
winter begins, or even during the mild spells of winter, 
success is a reasonable expectation. 

The soil is cold in the spring, and is much more 
slowly heated than the air, which stimulates the buds, 
and new leaves are developed more rapidly than the 
roots, and, as a consequence, the reduced roots of the 
transplanted tree are heavily taxed to supply the needed 
moisture. Now unless the top was cut back in pro- 
portion to the roots, the tree will suffer, and may die. 
Often the spring-set tree leaves out as well as the fall-set 
tree, but suddenly dries up and fails because the roots 
can not supply moisture. It does not matter whether a 
tree is just set, or has been long established, if moisture 
does not get into its top as fast as it dries out the tree 
will die, in the summer or winter, fall or spring. 

Trees set in the fall are in more favorable circumstances 
to get the benefit of the winter and spring rains to settle 
the earth among their roots ; and being thus established, 
they are ready to commence new growth in the first warm 



54 QUINCE CULTUKE. 

days of spring. Now where this is delayed till spring, it 
is often quite late before the ground is ready to work ; 
and if the season be backward, it is all the more impor- 
tant to have them in their places. Nurserymen generally 
not only send out the first choice in the fall, but give the 
trees a more careful handling, as they have more time at 
command. If not ready to set the trees, it may be better 
to secure the stock and heel in till ready. 

Spring planting will suit better than fall in Northern 
latitudes, where the ground freezes very deep, or where 
the soil is heavy and heaves with frost. At the North 
the trees are liable to be thrown up by alternate freezing 
and thawing, and the roots are often injured by being 
saturated with water in a heavy undrained soil. If the 
situation is very much exposed, staking may save the 
rootlets from being twisted off. If delayed till spring, 
always do this work as early as the circumstances will 
allow. 

Keeping a Record. — When different varieties of 
quinces have been planted in the same orchard, it will be 
useful to preserve a record or map of the location of 
each variety, as the labels on the trees soon fade, and 
memory is not to be trusted in years of change. Such a 
record will be found valuable for the use of new propri- 
etors, and, in case of the death or removal of the planter, 
will be of much importance. N'o system of labeling can 
be of equal value. 

Effects of Wind. — Whether winds will benefit or 
injure trees will depend on their character, and the 
degree of force with which they move. The swaying of 
the limbs and branches of trees as they are moved by the 
common winds that blow in every direction are beneficial, 
serving for them the purpose that exercise does for the 
animal creation. All know that exercise strengthens and 
promotes growth, and only becomes injurious when it is 



PROPAGATION OF TEE QUINCE. 55 

excessive. So with the motions of trees produced by 
winds, especially during the growing season. 

"The mild wind blows 
And beauty glows," 

but when the storm king rides on the wings of the wind 
in the sweeping hurricane, what was a benefit becomes 
an injury. Experiment has shown a diminished growth 
in the part of a tree not moved by the wind, and that 
wind-breaks are very desirable to prevent excessive sweeps 
of winds and storms. 

Straightening Leaning Trees.— Trees in an or- 
chard are often seen out of an erect position, which may 
arise from winds or other causes. In all such cases it 
will add to beauty and the convenience of culture to 
straighten up the leaning trees. This is easily done by 
setting a stake a little distance from the tree, and then 
fastening the tree to it with a wire or cord, thus securing 
it in a perpendicular position during the growing season. 
I have found a single year's growth in the desired posi- 
tion all that was necessary for permanence. It is best 
to do this when trees are quite small ; or, if large, when 
blown oyer, without delay. 



CHAPTER X. 

PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 

The quince may be multiplied from seeds, cuttings, 
and layers. The seed of a species will always produce its 
kind, but the seed of a variety is uncertain. If propa- 
gated from layers or cuttings, or by grafting or bud- 
ding, the trees will always be of the same variety as the 
parent tree. 

1. Propagation by Seeds.— All the recent varieties 



66 



QUIi^CE CULTURE. 



of merit seem to be chance seedlings, which suggests that 
seed should be selected from the best specimens of the 
choicest varieties, that there may be still further im- 
provement. Quince seed for planting should never be 
allowed to get thoroughly dried before it is planted. If 
not convenient to plant when taken from the fruit, 
preserve it in moist sand till spring, when, in a well- 
prepared seed-bed, it should be covered two or three 
inches deep, and treated as other seedlings. Any one 
desiring to improve the quince by seedlings will do well 




Fig. 26.— LAYERING. 

to study the theories of Van Mons, of Belgium, and 
Knight, of England, as described by Downing. 

2. Propagation" by Layers. — It is a very simple 
operation to bend down a limb, and keep it covered with 
moist earth till it is rooted, and then cut it from the 
parent tree. If the bent branch is partly cut off or slit 
up under a bud, or twisted like a withe at the lowest 
point, it will help both the bending and rooting. A wire 
twisted around the layer just below the bottom bud in 
the ground, and holes punched through above and below 



PROPAGATION^ OF THE QUINCE. 



57 



the wire, may help ; or the holes may be made through 
the layer in the buried portion to stimulate its rooting 
from the callus of the wounds. The bark is sometimes 
cut nearly around the layer just below a bud, and bits of 
wood removed below this cut to induce the formation 
of a callus, from which roots are emitted. It is some- 
times necessary to fasten down stiff branches with a 
forked peg or a weight. Young shoots of thrifty trees 
make the best layers. Early spring is the best time to 
put down layers, that they may be well rooted by autumn. 
Mound Layers or Stool Layers differ from the others 




Fig, 27. — ^MOUND OR STOOL LAYERING. 

by having the earth heaped up around them instead of 
being buried in the earth. The sprouts from stumps or 
around growing trees, being well banked up, will readily 
root as high as moist earth presses against them. 

3. Propagation by Cuttings is probably the best 
method of multiplying quince trees. Cuttings of large 
branches are better than those of small shoots. The 
amount of wood seems to measure the vital force to form 
both roots and tops. From twelve to fifteen inches is a 
good length, enabling us to plant deeply, and so guard 
against drought. Small cuttings may be cut shorter, and 



58 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



have a piece of apple or quince root grafted on to push 
them. The chief thing is to guard against the exhaus- 
tion of sap by evaporation until roots are formed. Fa- 
cilities for regulating light, heat, air, and moisture with 
precision will enable us to succeed with a succulent cut- 
ting furnished with a few leaves. When the air is 




Fig. 28.— LARGE CUTTING. 



Fig. 29. — ROOT-GRAFTING. 



warmer than the earth, buds are excited more than roots; 
and when the ground is warmest, root growth is most ex- 
cited. Hence the custom of burying cuttings inverted 
during the winter, to keep the buds dormant while a 
callus is forming for the emission of roots. 

In preparing the small cuttings to receive the pieces of 
roots grafted on them, the chief thing is to have their 



PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 59 

cut ends fit, so that the inner bark shall match at least 
on one side and at the end of the cutting. 

These grafted cuttings may be quickly dibbled in. 
making a hole deep enough to receive the whole length 
except a bud or two above the surface. Holding the 
cutting in the hole at the right depth with the left 
hand, push the earth firmly against the cutting with the 
dibble, as you would in planting a cabbage. For lack of 
such firming the earth there are many failures. 

The fall, after the leaves have dropped, is generally 
preferred for taking the cuttings ; but they may be taken 




Fig. 30.— ROOT CTTTTIKO. 

much later. I have had some cuttings grow in the open 
air, which were made in May, after the trees were growing. 

Root Cuttings a foot or so long are best prepared be- 
fore the buds swell in spring. I have trees from pieces 
of roots cut off by the plow as late as June. Plant at an 
angle of about forty-five degrees, or as near as you can to 
their natural position. 

4. Propagation by Grafting is successful where the 
inner barks of both stock and cion are made to fit to- 
gether. A union forms most readily between varieties 
of the same species ; next between species of the same 
genus, and is limited by genera of the same natural order. 
By this law one variety of quince will do best grafted on 



60 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



another ; and next on the apple, white thorn, and June- 
berry. On the white thorn it escapes the borer. 

The choice of wood for cuttings is hist year's growth 
from near the center of the tree. Be sure they are from 

healthy and vigorous trees. 
If trees are propagated from 
bearing "^ood they will come 
into fruit sooner tiian if from 
^^' * blind wood. Here is a rea- 

SPLITTING KNIFE AND CHISEL. . 

son tor the diiierence m the 
bearing age of trees from the same parentage. 

Spring is the best time for grafting, except the root 
grafting already described. In March we work by the 
metliods best suited while the bark adheres to the wood, 
and later by those suited to a bark easily separated 
from it. 

Cleft Orafting is the most common method, and is 
done by cutting off the stock smoothly, and splitting it 






Fi^. 32.— CI.EFT GRAFTING. Fig. 33. —SPLICE GRAFTING. 

down from an inch and a half to two inches, according 
to the size of the stock and the thickness of the cion. 
Into the cleft set the cion, with the end cut wedge- 
shaped, the outer edge a trifle thickest, and so placed 
that the liber or inner bark of the graft and stock shall 



PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 



61 



match ; then bind and cover all exposed parts with wax 
or clay, and the work is complete. 

Splice Grafting or Whip Grafting is only adapted to 
small stocks. If the stock and cion are of the same size, 
they will make a perfect match. 
If one is larger than the other, 
they will match on one side and 
end. Cut each with a slope about 
an inch and a half long, and 
make a tongue for convenience 
in matching the parts. Bind to- 
gether and wax well. 

Saddle Grafting is a modifi- 
cation of whip grafting easily 
understood by the illustration. 

Side Grafting is a simple way of propagation free 
from some of the objections to cleft grafting. It is a 
very convenient method of inserting a limb to restore 
a balance to the head, or provide shade for exposed 




Fig. 34.— SADDLE GRAFTING. 






Fig. 35. 

SIDE GRAFTING— TWO METHODS. 



Fig. 36. 



parts. The first method is like budding with the bud 
extended to a cion. The second is like cleft grafting, in 
a cut on the side of a tree or limb. 

Crown Grafting differs from side grafting by having 



62 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



the stock cut off as in cleft grafting. It is specially ser- 
viceable for stocks too large to split, and is best done 





Fig. 37. Fig. 38. 

CROWN GRAFTING. 

when the bark will slip. The stock is not split, but the 
tongue of the cion is slipped down under the bark as in 
budding. 

The advantages of cions with only one or two buds are, 
that they do not dry as soon as longer cions, they 




Fig. 89.— BUDDING KNIFE. 



afford less leverage to winds, and are less liable to be 
injured by birds lighting on them. 




Fig. 40.— BUDDING KNIFE. 

5. Propagation by Budding follows the same law of 
affinity observed in grafting. The buds may be taken 



PROPAGATION OF THE QUINCE. 



63 



from wood of the growing shoots well matured, or from 
the preceding year's growth. A cion too late for graft- 





Fig. 41.— STICK OP BUDS. 



Fig. 42.— CUTTING A BUD. 



ing may be treated as a cutting till its buds can be used. 

The bark of a quince tree can be raised for the insertion 

of a bud most of the growing season. The best place to 

insert it is near a bud, or where a bud 

has become a branch, as the supply 

of cambium is there most abundant. 

The bud, with its shield of bark, is cut 

from above or below, beginning to cut 

half an inch off, and so cutting as to 

leave a thin piece of wood under the 

bud. On the stock cuts are made 

like a X- The corners of the bark 

being lifted, we slide the bud to its 

place, and complete the operation by 

winding a ligament of bass or raffia 

around the stock above and below 

the bud, tying it securely. 

Failure may arise from injury to shoot from a bud. 

. -I 1 • • , , . -, . . A, place to tie the stock to 

the cambium in cuttmsr and raism^' saoo<; n, place to cut ojr the 

° ^ sio:;k afterward. 




Fig. 43.— TRAINING A 



64 QUINCE CULTL'RE. 

the bark of the stock, from too narrow a cross-cut to 
receive the shield of the bud, from using immature 
buds, from the shield being too short (it should be at 
least an inch long), and from being loosely tied, so as to 
dry out. The south side of a stock is dryer in summer, 
and so is to be avoided. 



CHAPTER XI. 
PRUNING THE QUINCE. 

In a natural condition we may regard it as a rule that 
the tree will maintain a harmonious relation of all its 
parts. The roots and branches will correspond with 
each other. Every twig, bud, or leaf removed from the 
top, and every fiber and spongelet cut oft* from the roots, 
will hurt or help the tree. No one is competent to re- 
duce the roots, or diminish the leaves and branches, 
unless he possesses enough knowledge of the laws which 
regulate the action of the organs of vegetation to foresee 
the effect which will follow such removals. J. Lindley 
truly says: ** If well-directed, pruning is one of the most 
useful, and, if ill-directed, it is among the most mis- 
chievous operations that can take place upon a plant." 

1. Pruning at Transplanting. — As already stated 
elsewhere, all bruised and decayed roots should be re- 
moved ; but the case is different with healthy roots. AVe 
must remember that every healthy and unmutilated root 
which is removed is a loss of nutriment to the plant, and 
that, too, at a time when it is least able to spare it; and 
there can not be any advantage in the removal. The top 
should always be cut back at this time, so as to preserve 
a balance in its proportion to the reduced roots. If we 
infringe on the reciprocal action which naturally exists 



PRUi^ING THE QUI:N'CE. 



65 



between the roots and branches, evil results will surely 
follow. The accumulated life-force sets the roots to 
forming new spongioles, and the buds to developing 
their leaves ; the elementary substances, which the roots 
absorb, are acted on by the leaves^ and the new mate- 
rial thus prepared extends both the roots and branches. 
If transplanting has been well performed, the tree will 
need little more pruning than would otherwise be desir- 
able to promote a more vigorous growth ; but if the roots 
have suffered in being dug, there will be a decided ad- 
vantage in cutting back the new shoots to the fewest 




Fig. 44. —PRUNING SHEARS. 

buds that will give the desired form to the head of the 
tree. 

2. Prun-in-g for Form.— The intelligent and observ- 
ing horticulturist will find, by starting with a young tree, 
that he can secure almost any form desired, by judicious 
pruning. Trees make the most vigorous growth from 
terminal buds. By cutting off the shoots by upper and 
under buds the new growth will be upward or downward ; 
and side buds will give a growth to the right or the left. 
Keeping in mind the general principle that limbs must not 
grow so as to cross and chafe each other, I have settled into 
the practice of cutting back all my trees annually, begin- 
ning when they are one year old, and following them up 
as they increase in size and multiply their branches. The 



63 QUII^-CE CULTURE. 

cut should be made far enough above the bud to insure 
its not drying out, and near enough to grow over the 
end as the tree enhirges. The age of the tree, and its 
thriftiness or feebleness, must be taken into account in 
determining how far back to cut. 

The quince tree is naturally inclined to grow into a 
bushy head, but it also pushes up one or more leaders, 
and can be trained into a regular tree-form if that be 
desired. To secure an upright growth, cut back the 
leader to an inside bud. To spread out branches, cut so 
as to leave the bud on the outside. Clean off a larsre 
portion of the little twigs that multiply and die along 
neglected branches, and besides saving resources, you will 





Fig. 45. — BUDS AND BRANCHES. 



improve the smoothness and beauty of the limbs. The 
fact that so many of these die along the limbs is Na- 
ture's admonition to prune the tree. It is quite com- 
mon for the buds along a vigorous shoot to develop 
threefold, and it will add to the beauty and symmetry 
of the form to begin with the young tree and rub off all 
but the strongest bud ; and where limbs are not wanted, 
rub all off. This will direct the energy of the tree 
into the most desirable channels. It is worth while to 
go over a tree for this purpose a number of times 
during the growing season, because one strong shoot 
is worth more than two or three feeble ones having 
the same amount of material divided between them. 



PRUI^IN^G THE QUINCE. 67 

At a (fig. 45) are triple buds at a favorable age to easily 
rub off supernumeraries. At h they are so far developed 
as to need the knife to cut off the extras. At c we have 
the vigorous shoots growing as desired. 

How much to cut back each year is a matter of judg- 
ment. In a shoot from one to two feet long, cut back 
about half the length. A growth of three to five feet 
may be reduced a little more than one-half. Treated in 
this way, the tree pushes vigorous side shoots, and makes 
a lower head, which is less affected by winds, is more 
convenient to keep in order, the fruit is easily gathered, 
and however heavy the crop, the branches are so stocky 
they never break. If a cone-shaped head is desired (and 
this is the ideal form of many), it can be secured by 
leaving the lower branches longest. The natural flow 
of sap to the upper branches will be diminished, and 
increased in the lower, and thus their growth will be 
proportionally increased. If the branches are nearer 
than four to six inches, cut out those worst situated, or 
least likely to be fruitful. A judicious thinning and 
shortening of crowded and irregular branches will promote 
both thrift and fruitfulness. When a shoot pushes so 
strongly as to attract to itself too much of the nutriment 
of the tree, pinch off the end, and repeat the operation 
till its buds push like those on the other shoots, till, by 
compelling an equal distribution of nutriment, all shoots 
grow in like proportions, if not equally. 

3. Pruning to Promote Growth.— When a stunted 
tree is cut back judiciously, the remaining buds may be 
expected to grow with renewed vigor, because the forces 
of growth are concentrated on a smaller number of buds. 
The inner bark of a feeble tree is thinner, and the sap 
vessels smaller ; the more concentrated growth thickens 
the bark and enlarges the sap vessels; and so there is a more 
ready flow of all the nourishing fluids, and a consequent 
increase of growth. In the laboratory of the leaves the 



68 QUIKCE CULTURE. 

sap is matured, and as it descends through the bark to 
the roots it deposits the matter which is added to the 
tree ; while the part of the sap not thus expended goes 
into the alburnum, and joins the upward current, com- 
municating powers unknown to the recently absorbed 
fluid. What is thus true in regard to a feeble tree is yet 
more manifest in stronger and older trees. 

To secure all the benefit, the pruning should be done 
in the winter, when there is the greatest amount of 
vitality stored up for use the coming season. In the 
latitude where the ground seldom freezes deep, the tree 
continues to absorb food by its rootlets, which is dis- 
tributed over the branches. But when the prunings are 
wanted for cuttings, they will be found that much 
stronger for the same reason. I have never taken off 
cuttings for propagation earlier than December or Janu- 
ary, though I have no doubt of their success when taken 
earlier. 

I can not too strongly recommend a severe pruning of 
feeble young trees, both in the nursery and orchard. If 
we leave only a bud or two, the concentration of vigor may 
restore a healthy growth to the tree, which will continue 
as long as other conditions are favorable. 

4. Pruntkg for Fruitfuln'ess. — The general law 
is, that excessive growth and great fruitfulness can not 
co-exist in the same plant. Accordingly, a number of 
devices are employed to so far change the growth as to 
secure the formation of fruit buds. '' The buds of fruit 
trees which produce blossoms, and those which afford 
leaves only, in the spring, do not at all differ from each 
other, in their first stage of organization, as buds. Each 
contains the rudiment of leaves only, which are subse- 
quently transformed into the component parts of the 
blossom, and in some species of the fruit also." From 
the freaks in Nature's mode of operation, it is plain that, 
while the various parts of a blossom differ both in ap- 



PRUNING THE QUINCE. G9 

pearance and office from the leaves, yet, under some cir- 
cumstances, they all assume the same appearance and 
office. Accepting this idea, we are still unable to ex- 
plain how or why a given course of treatment causes a 
tree to convert a part of its buds into flowers, by forming 
their leaf-scales into calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils, 
while its other buds become branches clothed with 
nothing but leaves. 

The period of fruitfulness varies in different species of 
plants, and in different varieties of the same species. It 
is often in our power to advance or retard these periods 
by our methods of cultivation. The law as stated by 
Lindley is, '*' Whatever produces excessive vigor in plants 
is favorable to the formation of leaf-buds, and unfavor- 
able to the production of flower-buds ; while, on the 
other hand, such circumstances as tend to diminish lux- 
uriance, and to check rapid vegetation, without affecting 
the health of the individual, are more favorable to the 
production of flower-buds than of leaf -buds." 

(a.) Root Prunijig, if performed at the right time, 
checks too vigorous growth in highly cultivated trees and 
renders them fruitful. How far from the trunk of tiie 
tree to cut off the roots must be determined by the size 
of the tree. Wm. Saunders recommends from three to 
six feet from the stem, according to the size of the tree, 
and to perform the operation by digging a circular 
trench, so as to cut off all the roots. He says: ** If done 
in August, the supply of sap will immediately be lessened, 
the wood-maturing principle accelerated, and fruit-buds 
formed. The operation has been performed in spring 
with but little benefit, but if done in the fall can not fail 
in producing the desired results." F. P. Gasson cuts off 
the roots of a tree four inches in diameter, within two 
feet of the trunk, only leaving a circle of roots four feet 
in diameter ; and this, too, after the leaves have fallen in 
autumn. He fertilizes liberally in the fall with solid 



70 QUINCE CULTUKE. 

manure. The following spring and summer he waters 
well with rich liquid manure, especially if the weather be 
dry; and besides, gives an annual dressing of lime. As a 
result of this treatment his trees make short, stiff wood, 
well supplied with fruit buds. He thins out the small 
and poor fruit, and then allows the trees to bear full 




Fig. 46.— FIVE YEAR OLD TREE BEFORE PRUNnsTG (From Photograph). 

crops. The pruning is done every second year, widening 
the circle of roots at each successive pruning. 

The unproductive tree is sometimes brought into bear- 
ing by being transplanted. The check to growth stops 
the leaves from consuming the nutriment accumulated 
in the branches, and which they would have expended in 
making more wood, and so nutritious matter accumulates 
and fruit-buds are formed. The same principle is seen 
to operate in the abundant crops that follow the years 



PRUNING THE QUINCE. 



71 



when trees have their crops destroyed by late frosts. An 
excessive crop so far exhausts the nutritious matter 
stored in the branches, that the tree takes an off year to 
recover and lay up for the next. 

(b.) Pruning the Limbs to promote fruitfulness must 
of necessity be done in the summer, when it will reduce 
the young wood-growth, and so lead to such an accumu- 
lation of sap in the branch as will organize the remaining 
buds to produce fruit. ^' If of two unequal branches 




Fig. 47. — FIVE TEAR OLD TREE AFTER PRUNiNa {From PTiotograph). 

the stronger is shortened, and stopped in its growth, the 
other becomes stronger ; and this is one of the most 
useful facts connected with pruning, because it enables a 
skillful cultivator to equalize the rate of growth of all 
parts of a tree." 

This shortening of the growing twigs should be done 
when they are so tender they can be pinched off with the 
thumb and finger. If the next bud immediately pushes 
into another extension of the shoot, it will be necessary 
to pinch off again a little further on, even to the third 



72 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



or fourth time. An excess of wood is tlie occasion of 
barrenness oftener than is supposed. The tree exhausts 
its strength in sustaining and extending its woody fiber 
at so many points, that it has little vigor left to form 
fruit-buds or mature a crop of fruit. Nature intimates 
this sometimes by all at once dropping off all the fruit 
that is set after an abundant blossoming. The outer 
branches are most fruitful as a rule ; and if the head is 
kept open the fruit is better. 

The two pictures of one of my trees are an illustration 
of such an experience. This tree, now eight years old, 




Fig. 48. 

BAD AND GOOD PRUNING. 



Fig. 49. 

BESULT OF BAD PKUNING. 



grew about sixteen inches from the cutting the first 
year, and was then transplanted, and cut back to within 
six inches of the. ground. The second year it made a 
growth of four shoots of about five feet each ; and these, 
in turn, were cut back to about three feet, throwing out 
the side shoots that form the head. When five years old 
it stood eight feet and five inches high before it was 
pruned. It lias borne since it was three years old, the 
last crop being one hundred and twenty quinces, the two 
largest filling a quart can. The longest shoot grown 
with this crop was six feet and four inches, in the midst 
of several others only a little shorter. 



PRUNING THE QUINCE. 



73 



I have thus far treated of pruning as it should he done 
with the knife or shears, before the limbs are large 
enough to need a saw. But when trees have been 
neglected till large limbs are to be cut off, it is im- 
portant that they should be so cut as to give a good 
prospect of healing over ; else they may be the occasion 
of decay going into the very heart of the tree. If the 
cut is made several inches from the body, there is no 
possibility of healing over, and decay is inevitable. On 
the other hand, if the limb is cut so as not to leave a 
projecting stump, it may grow over entirely in a few 




Fig. 50.— DECAY FROM BAD 
PRUNING. 



Fig. 51.— RIGHTLY PRUNED 
BRANCHES HEALED OVER. 



years, especially if w^ll waxed or painted. As a rule, if 
the limb cut off is an inch or more in diameter, it is well 
to cover the wound. Gum shellac dissolved in alcohol 
to the thickness of paint is as good as any thing to apply. 
It is very adhesive, soon hardens, keeps out the air and 
water, and is not affected by weather changes. It is too 
thin to hinder the lip of the growing bark from closing 
over the wound. Grafting wax, or a composition of 
equal parts of resin and tallow, melted and applied with 
a brush or swab, has been successfully used. A medi- 
cated tar, made by dissolving half an ounce of corrosive 
sublimate in half a gill of spirit, and then heating and 



74 QUINCE CULTURE. 

mixing in tar, is found excellent. If too thin to handle 
conveniently, mix in a little Avhiting or chalk dust. Sal 
ammoniac or spirits of hartshorn will dissolve the corrosive 
sublimate more easily than the spirit. It is an insecti- 
cide, and when a gallon of soft water is used in place of 
the tar it is a good wash to kill all insects and their eggs 
on the bark. If nothing better is convenient, a little 
grease of any kind will have a good effect on the wound. 
If a limb bleeds when it is cut off, it may be worth 
while to 2i\)^\y Knighfs Composition of four parts scraped 
cheese with one part of shell lime, or other pure lime, 
pressing the composition strongly into the pores of 
the wood. With this he found he could instantly stop 
the flow of sap in the largest branch. The worst time 
to prune is when the sap begins to flow actively in the 
spring. By contact with the air it sours and becomes 
poison to the bark. We ought not to close this topic 
without suggesting, that when the smaller limbs and 
twigs are cut off a good sharp knife is not always the 
most desirable implement to use. It often slips and 
injures what is not intended to be cut away. Small 
limbs can be pruned more rapidly with a good pair of 
shears. 



CHAPTER XIL 
PROMOTING FRUITFULNESS WITHOUT PRUNING. 

1. This may be done by restricting root growth by 
pruning or cutting in the roots, as described on a former 
page, and need not be repeated here. 

2. Bending down strong-growing branches without 
fruit-buds, has been found to retard the circulation of 
the sap sufficiently to induce fruitfulness. The pendant 
form becomes fixed by a single season's growth, and may 
be so skillfully arranged as to secure symmetrical and 




FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 75 

ornamental trees. July and August are favorable months 
to tie down. The branches are secured to pegs driven in 
the ground. All kinds of trees and plants may be in- 
duced to flower and fruit, no matter how 
luxuriant their growth, by a judicious use 
of the bending process. 

3. Ringing the branches. This is done 
by taking off a ring of bark wide enough 
to arrest the circulation of the sap, com- 
pelling it to accumulate above the ring. 
The same effect is often produced by a 
ligature made of wire. The effect is to 
produce early maturity in the fruit and 
an increase in its size, but at the ex- 
pense of its quality. There seems, how- 
ever, to be no use for this operation on the quince. 

4. Grafting is a method of inducing early fruitfulness. 
A cion from a young seedling may be grafted on the 
limb of a bearing tree, and thus be brought into a fruitful 
condition much sooner than if left on the seedling stock. 
This is advantageous in testing new varieties. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 

It has long been observed that a very full blossoming 
often results in but little fruit ; sometimes none at all. 
Why is it thus ? A variety of causes may operate to 
produce the failure of fruit. If the weather be so un- 
favorable as to prevent the blossoms from performing 
their appointed work, failure is inevitable. When the 
weather is very dry while the trees are in bloom the fruc- 
tification is often too imperfect to set the fruit, and the 
blossoms dry up and drop off. Or, on the other hand, 



76 QUIKCE CULTURE. 

if there happens to be a long wet spell just at the time 
of blossoming, I have observed that the beating rain pre- 
vents the blossoms from 23erforming their natural office 
of fructifying, and failure follows. For the pollen of 
the stamens to become perfectly matured, it is necessary 
that the blossoms have a few days of favorable weather 
after they are expanded, to enable them to fulfill their 
office. A tree may appear to have but a few blossoms, 
but with favorable weather for all to become perfected, 
so that each produces fruit, there may be an excellent 
crop. As a rule we want our trees to carry too much. 

Again, blossoms will be found to fail because of the 
severity of the preceding winter. It may destroy the 
germs of the fruit without killing the other parts of the 
blossom. In such cases, all will appear to go right for a 
time; but, as with other things in nature, the antecedent 
cause will ultimately produce its legitimate effect, and 
the beautiful blooming proves to be only the forerunner 
of disappointed hopes. 

Still again, a tree may blossom abundantly, and the 
fruit set and grow for a while, but all at once the whole 
falls off. This may arise from the tree being too feeble 
to sustain the crop set. Like a man with too heavy a 
load for his strength, he carries it all a little way, and 
then drops it exhausted. 

Once more, it will be noticed that some varieties are 
more likely to fail after a full blossoming than others 
growing near them. This is chiefly owing to the differ- 
ence of vigor and fruitfulness in different varieties. 

A study of the peculiarities of the different varieties is 
of great importance to the cultivator. It is a matter of 
interest to observe that the great number of blossoms 
provided for in the economy of nature is to secure the 
certainty of fertility. Many will dry up and disappear 
as soon as they have done their fructifying work, while 
those attached to the stems bearinor the fertilized fruit 



THINNIKG THE FRUIT. 77 

do not so soon disappear. The petals retain their color 
and stand out with ])rominence so long after the others 
have withered away as to suggest a second blossoming. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THINNING THE FRUIT. 

The story is told of a man who said it took him thirty 
years to get moral courage to prune his fruit trees. A 
large proportion of cultivators never attain the courage 
of their convictions in this matter. By far the most ex- 
peditious method of thinning fruit is to prune judi- 
ciously. In some varieties, after having pruned quite 
severely, there is too much fruit set to be carried to 
maturity, and a large thinning out is a necessity to pre- 
vent the trees from overbearing. To many, it seems an 
unjustifiable waste to pull off the finely-set specimens ; 
and with a serious doubt as to the wisdom of the oper- 
ation, they allow their trees to overbear. As an inevi- 
table result, the fruit is small and inferior, the trees 
are overtaxed in the effort to mature more than they 
are able to perfect, and, as a consequence, they must 
have an off year to rest and recuperate. We hardly 
realize that a tree is overbearing till the fruit has at- 
tained considerable size, and then we hate to pull off 
enough to relieve the strain. I sometimes take off half 
or two-thirds, and then there is a plenty left to be of the 
first quality. The number of bushels will be about tlie 
same, and the quality of the fruit greatly improved. In 
years of abundance the large fruit will sell when the 
small finds no market at any price. This difference in 
the market value of fine fruit and tiiat produced by 
overbearing trees shows the great importance of properly 
thinninsr. 



78 QUINCE CULTURE. 

The thinning of quinces should not be done till 
we can judge pretty well which would fall of them- 
selves ; and this generally shows quite well by the time 
they are as large as a man's thumb. Whether this 
natural thinning is the effect of insect stings, or of dry 
weather reducing the moisture below a sufficiency, or of 
a natural selection securing ^' the survival of the fittest," 
is not always easy to determine. Besides all these reduc- 
tions, it will often bo best to remove many others from 
very prolific trees. If, for any cause, thinning has been 
delayed till the fruit is quite advanced, still it is best to 
do it, and relieve the strain on the tree. By combining 
with this thinning of the fruit a thorough cultivation 
of the soil, a poor variety may excel a better one that is 
neglected. This will be more especially observable in 
young trees. They seem to be more easily affected than 
when older. But even the old trees seem to be rejuve- 
nated and show fruit improved beyond their possibilities 
under neglect. 

It is hardly necessary to say that deformed and imper- 
fect specimens are first to be removed, with any that 
show signs of insect stings ; and that all wormy fruit 
should be destroyed or placed where the worms will die 
]Jeep burial in the earth will generally kill them ; so will 
fire or water. If taken as early as it ought to be, the 
green fruit will have little value as food for any kind of 
stock. 



CHAPITER XV. 

GATHERING AND MARKETING. 

If the trees have been properly pruned annually, it 
will be a long time before they are too high to reach 
the fruit from the ground. When, in time, the fruit is 



GATHERING AND MARKETING. 79 

borne too high to reach, a common step-ladder will be 
found convenient. A cheap and convenient step-ladder 
may be made out of two pine boards, six inches wide and 
one inch thick, for sides. The steps should be of the 
same width, and mortised into them, with a wider board 
for the top. The bottom should be wide enough to 
stand firmly, and the top only wide enough for standing 
room, with a basket for the fruit. 

The stave basket, being smooth inside, and therefore 
less liable to bruise the fruit, is preferred to the old 
splinter chip basket. The size used to be for five half 







Fig. 53. — A CHEAP STEP-LADDER. Fig. 54. — STAVE BASKET. 

pecks, but now it is generally for four. The old standard 
crate for shipping fruit was eight inches wide, fourteen 
deep, and twenty-three and a half long, outside measure. 
The ends and partition were cut from three-quarter inch 
pine, seven and a half wide by fourteen inches long. 
The bottom and top were six and a half wide, and three - 
eighths of an inch thick. The sides were of four slats of 
the same thickness, and two and a half inches wide. The 
whole crate consisted of tliirteen pieces, often with a 
planed end for marking. These proportions are varied, 
some being wider and shorter, or narrower and deeper, 



80 QUIKCE CULTURE. 

according to the choice of the shipper or maker. 
Crates being seldom returned as '^ empties, ^^ they are 
about enough less in capacity than the bushel to cover 
the cost of the crate. Baskets are now returned, but 
probably will not be much longer. 

For marketing, as well as for home use, quinces should 
not be gathered until fully ripe, as they do not, like ap- 
ples, pears, and peaches, ripen up in color and flavor 
after t'ney are picked. If gathered too early the quince is 
comparatively worthless. If the cultivator of the quince 
does not desire at once to dispose of his fruit, the later 
ripening sorts can be kept for a long time by being care- 
fully spread out in a cool chamber till the frost necessi- 



Fig. 55.— FRUIT CRATE. 

tates their removal to the cellar. With proper care 
quinces may be kept till April in common cellars. 
Of course, with retardiug-house conveniences all fruits 
may be kept at will. As a rule, it will be found that the 
best time to use or sell quinces is soon after they are 
ripe. If kept too long the demand for them, as with 
most other fruits, ceases, and they are not sought for. 

There is always a market for quinces in the large 
cities, and, if the quality is good, at paying prices ; but 
often the best market will be in some of the smaller 
cities and towns. The producer will find it advanta- 
geous to lookout for such markets before the iruit is ripe, 
so as to know just where to send it when ready. There 
is a class of customers who always want the best fruit, 
and are willing to pay for it. The best is found in the 
end to be the cheapest. 



THE PROFITS OF QUIKCE CULTURE. 81 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PROFITS OF QUINCE CULTURE. 

The profit of quince raising depends, first, on the vari- 
ety raised, some being too unfruitful to ever yield profit- 
able crops ; next, on the skill and care of the cultivator, 
the best varieties being unprofitable when neglected ; and, 
lastly, on the demands of markets. Hitherto there has 
been a market for even poor quinces; but as crops increase, 
only good fruit will be in demand at paying prices. 

N. Ohmer, of Dayton, Ohio, reported, in 1869, that he 
had two acres in quinces ; that three-fourths of an acre, 
ten years planted, had yielded crops six years regularly; 
and that in 1868 he gathered from three-quarters of an 
acre 300 bushels, which he sold at 12.50 a bushel, whole- 
sale. A New York cultivator of the Rea's Mammoth 
raised on a third of an acre a crop worth $500. I have 
found a ready market for quinces when well put up in 
both tin and glass cans, at paying prices, in the markets 
of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and smaller cities. 
My first planting of the JVIeech's Prolific was only 
eight feet apart, quincunx, and the trees averaged half a 
peck when five years old ; doubled it the next year, and 
trebled it when seven years old. Taking one year witn 
another, my entire crop has averaged $2.50 a bushel. I 
found, when the trees were eight years old, that they 
averaged $1.22 a tree that year, being about $450 an acre. 
The Rea's has yielded a crop next in value to the Prolific 
at my place in Vineland, N. J. 

By the report of the New Jersey Horticultural Society 
for 1884, it will be seen that C. L. Jones had a yield of 
782, making seven and a half bushels, from two trees in 
his yard at Newark. He sold many of them at $6 a 
hundred, realizing $22.50, besides having 200 for himself 



83 QUIN^CE CULTURE. 

and friends. The two trees had been ten years planted, 
and show what can be realized from the most favorable 
conditions of growth and marketing. From the prices 
reported in several other States, the successful cultivator 
of this fruit could not fail to make it profitable. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 

Diseases in trees arise from a variety of causes, such 
as insect depredations, loss of vitality from bacteria, and 
fungi preying on the living tissue; or there may be organic 
disease reproduced from unhealthy stocks and seeds. 
One form of existence is destroyed to produce another. 
The elements of life by death and decay enter into new 
forms of life. Disease in one department of nature may 
provide for a want in another. 

The chief known causes of disease in quinces are 
bacteria and fungi. They are both low forms of vege- 
table life, the first multiplying by the division of a single 
cell, the second producing several spores in a cell. Of 
the various bacteria, each acts in a way peculiar to itself. 
Some produce disease, some act as ferments, others assist 
in the ripening of fruits, and still others aid in the re- 
generation of organic matter to form cell-structure. 

The fungi are cellular, flowerless plants, which receive 
their sustenance from the earth or the organized bodies 
on which they grow. They differ from other plants, in 
general, in chemical composition, being chiefly nitrogen 
instead of carbon ; and in their method of growth, ab- 
sorbing oxygen and giving out carbonic acid. All the 
higher forms of plant life may have one or more of these 
low forms to prey on it as a parasite by its absorbing 



DISEASES OF THE QUIKCE. 83 

roots or mycelium, or live within it as a saprophyte. A 
healthy tree possesses sufficient vigor to resist the attacks 
of diseases, and may grow on successfully when a feeble tree 
would be destroyed. A fungus may be so concealed in 
the tissues of a plant on which it is thriving, that its 
presence will only be known by the mycelium cropping 
out with spores on the surface. 

1. Quii^^CE Blight. — It seems to be well established 
that this disease, also called fire hligld and twig Might, 
is the same as the pear Uight in the pear and the apple 
hliglit in the apple. The disease has been produced in the 
June-berry {Amelanchier Canadensis), the 'English Haw- 
thorn {Cratcegus Oxycantha), and the Evergreen Thorn 
(Cratmgus Pyracantha), by inoculation, and may prob- 
ably be so produced in any member of this family of trees. 
Every part of the tree above ground is subject to its 
attacks. It may extend only to tender twigs, or it may 
entirely destroy the tree. The presence of this disease 
may be recognized by the granular appearance of the 
bark on the tender twigs, accompanied by the exuding 
of a gummy substance, of a peculiar odor, quite sticky to 
the fingers in the morning after a heavy dew, and drying 
up so as to glisten in the sun, when it forms into granu- 
lations on the discolored bark. This gummy substance, 
as seen through a microscope, resembles filamentous 
threads, each being strung with sacks of bacteria, ready 
to burst and scatter their infinitesimal germs by the aid 
of the lightest breeze, or to be washed to the earth by 
summer showers. The author was aided in examining 
this gum from a blighted twig by Prof. J. B. Ellis, 
author of ^^ North American Fungi," and it was found 
that so little as could be picked up on the point of a pen- 
knife, put into a drop of water on the glass slide of his 
microscope, revealed an innumerable number of spores, 
or bacteria, too small to be described. The stomata of 
a leaf, examined at the same time, was large enough to 



84 QUINCE CULTUKE. 

take in a dozen of them at once. Hence the ease with 
which the disease may be spread. 

Prof. J. C. Arthur, botanist of the New York Agricul- 
tural Station, who has given much time to the study of 
this disease, suggests that ^' The bacteria escape from 
the tissues in the slimy drops that ooze out from the 
diseased parts, especially in damp weather. They are 
washed off and freed from the viscid part by rains, and 
upon becoming dry are taken up by the winds. Being 
now suspended in the air, a damp day, dewy night, or 
light rain would bring them in contact with the delicate 
surface tissues of fresh cracks or wounds, in the most 
favorable way to introduce the contagion. This is quite 
in accordance with the fact that the disease usually starts 
at the ends of the branches, but also appears sometimes 
on the larger limbs, and even the trunks. It also ex- 
plains the fact that the rankest growers are most subject 
to attack, these exposing more tender surfaces, and, upon 
the disease obtaining a foothold, furnishing more succu- 
lent tissues." Insects are almost sure to carry the disease 
wherever they go, after contact with these exudations. 

Tiie theory that ascribes the blight to bacteria is so 
well proved that it is needless to notice the older theories 
which obtained before 1880, when Prof. T. J. Burrill, of 
Illinois, began experiments to demonstrate this. ^' The 
bacteria connected with pear blight are all of one kind, 
and of only one kind : not the bactei'ia of putrefaction 
or of animal diseases, but a kind that have never been 
found anywhere except in blighted fruit trees. These 
have been named Micrococcus amylovorus. The former 
Avord, the generic name, means very minute bodies; the sec- 
ond, or specific name, means that they are lovers of starch. 
They are very minute vegetable organisms, and live on 
starch or similar substances. They multiply by dividing 
into two, like the figure 8; these divide again, this process 
of division and subdivision going on very rapidly." 



DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 85 

The bacterial theory seems to account for all the 
phenomena connected with this disease. The bacteria 
found in the disease will produce it from inoculation in 
about a week; and by the second week the stem and 
leaves of the twig will be dead, and by the third WTck 
the disease will be extended down the limb, marking its 
progress by the brown bark and blackened leaves peculiar 
to the blight. 

Bacteria may enter through the flowers as well as the 
tender tissues of the growing twigs, or any opening in 
the older bark of the trunk and limbs. Xo visible effect 
is likely to be seen for several weeks. In June, and on- 
ward for a number of months, it may be seen as branch 
after branch reveals its presence. It grows very slowly 
in cold weather, and rapidly in warm and moist weather. 

I have found the annual salting of both quince and 
pear trees, when done before the spring growth begins, 
to operate as a preventive ; but can not say there will 
be none in the future. Later salting has not always pre- 
vented it. When the disease is manifest, no time should 
be lost in removing and burning the diseased portions. 
Be sure to cut far enough below the affected parts to re- 
move all the disease. 

So long as there remains any portion of the trunk or 
branches not encircled with the blight, the tree may re- 
cover. I have trees that have done good service for 
several years, which were all destroyed except a strip on 
one side. The diseased parts were cut away, splitting off 
the blighted wood from one side of the trunk, and the 
rest has grown well, now nearly covering the split portion. 

Accepting the bacterial theory of the disease, we might 
propose to control it by spraying the trees with some 
antiseptic ; but in practice the best thing we can do is 
to prevent it as far as possible, and diligently destroy 
every trace of the disease. 

The microscope shows that both leaves and fruit are 



86 



QUII^CE CULTUEE. 



more or less protected by a coating of natural yarnish, sup- 
posed to be wax or silica. Whatever it may be, it is best 
to observe what soils and fertilizers supply it. Ashes and 
lime are found to improve the quality of fruit, and it 
may be assumed, also, that they increase the vigor of 
growth, and so aid in resisting the attacks of bacterial 
and fungoid diseases. 

2. Orange Rust (Rcestilia aiirantiaca, Peck ; Ce7i- 
tridium Cydonice, Ellis). — This fungus affects the stems 
and fruit of the quince in June and onward. In a single 




Fig. 56.— STEM AT A BUD AS AFFECTED BY THE R^STILIA ATTRANTIACA. 

instance I have seen it on the loaf stalk. The spores 
are of a beautiful orange color, globose in shape, Avith a 
membranous envelope, and are produced in sacks or 
pustules, which form an enlargement on the stems, re- 
sembling the black knot of plum and cherry trees. The 
little blackened quinces remaining on the trees after 
the leaves have fallen, attest its destruction of the fruit, 
and warn us against its neglect. Once in a while a stem 
survives its attacks, and so of the fruit. As the disease 
progresses the granules burst, forcing their sides upward, 



DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 



87 



and opening out with a multitude of cups, notched at 
the edge, and shedding a profusion of yellow dust, which, 
as it falls, reminds one of the shower of sparks from an 
ascending rocket. The cups are bell-shaped, edged with 
a pretty fringe around their margins ; and are so nu- 
merous as to entirely girdle the twig or half cover the 
fruit. 

These cups, called peridia by mycologists, appear to 
have burst through the outer covering of the bark on 




Fig. 57.— STEM BETWEEN BUDS AFFECTED BY THE R^STILIA AT7RANTIACA. 

the twigs and the skin of the fruit. The cups some- 
times rise a tenth of an inch above the surface, with the 
lower parts attached to the substratum. The bursting 
peridia shed a liberal shower of their golden dust around 
them, which is scattered by the winds, carrying the spores, 
or, more strictly, the protospores, because they produce 
the true spores or fruit, so that each grain of this dust is 
tlie seed of more of these epiphytal plants. Before the 
oidium or fungus bursts out in the clusters of cups so 
prolific of dust, the surfaces of affected parts show numer- 



88 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



ous little elevations or pustules, which become ruptured 
as ripeness is attained, when the fungus pushes through 
the opening, at the same time bursting by radiating 
fissures, and forming a fringed edge of the cups. The 
fringed edges are often recurved, revealing the orange 
spores crowded together within. At first, and while 
contained within the peridium, they are concatinate or 




Fig. 58.— FRUIT AND STEM AS AFFECTED BY THE R^STILIA AURANTIACA, 

chained together ; but when dispersed they are scattered 
about the orifice, and often mixed with the colorless 
cells from which they have issued. 

A slice of the fruit cut out before the fungi are matured 
enough to burst the cells, shows the yellow color of the 
dust in its granular formation, as confined by the cellular 
substance of the cups. Each of the protospores con- 



DISEASES OF THE QUIKCE. 89 

tained within the peridia may germinate, and produce 
not only one, but many vegetative spores, which are ex- 
ceedingly minute, and may be regarded as the embryos 
of a fresh crop of fungi. If a vertical section be made, 
the fungi will be seen to spring from beneath, the spores 
or protospores being clustered at the bottom. The tooth- 
like fringe is only a continuation of the cellular substance 
of the cups. 

Tt is possible that the fluid parts of the spores are 
absorbed by the growing plant, and as the result, the 
plant has become inoculated with the virus, which is so 
destructive as often to discourage the horticulturist. It 





Fig. 59.— SPORE OF THE KJES- 
TILIA, MAGNIFIED 400 

DIAMETERS. Fig. 60.— AI.LORHINA NITIDA. 

requires a great stretch of the imagination to reach the 
possible limit of their mysterious increase and consequent 
injury. 

The spores of the Rcestilia aurantiaca are from 
twenty-five to thirty thousandths of a millimeter in 
diameter. 

The only effective remedy yet discovered, is to gather 
and burn the affected parts of stems and fruit before the 
spores are scattered to spread the disease. 

The RcBstilia aurantiaca on twigs attracts the com- 
mon green and brown dung beetle, Allorlima nitida. It 
\s a. scaribwid(e about the size of the common brown May 
beetle, and very strong. This beetle, though a friend to 



90 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



the quince cultivator, sometimes eats into com and vari- 
ous fruits. 

3. Quince Leaf Brownness {Morthiera Mespili v. 
Cydonim, C. and E.). — This fungoid disease of the 
leaves is indicated by reddish-brown spots, which show 
on both sides of the leaf, with a small black speck in the 
center of each spot, which speck, ou being magnified, 
appears to be four spores in one, each of the four being 
elliptical, and ending in a thread as long as itself. The 




Fig. 61.— LEAVES AFFECTED BY MORTHIERA MESPILI. 

rounded spots extend into coalescing brown patches, 
sometimes covering a large part of the leaf. The en- 
largement of the spots is due to the extension of the 
mycelium of the spores, which, as the disease progresses, 
kills the leaves, and they drop to the ground. The older 
leaves generally show the disease first, and from them it 
extends toward the ends of the brandies, sometimes nearly 
defoliating the tree. It occurs on trees of every age. 
In studying this disease, Soraner put some spores on a 



DISEASES OF THE QUIKCE. 



91 



healthy pear leaf, which there germinated, and in two 
weeks produced the brown spots with the black specks in 
the center. In the winter he found on the fallen leaves 





Fig. 62.— MORTHIERA MESPILT, MAGNIFIED Fig. 63.~MTCELIUM OP 
400 DIAMETERS. THE FUNGI MAGNIFIED. 

what he thought to be the same fungus, producing an- 
other set of spores (ascospores), which became ripe in 
April and May. Such fungi are able to grow slowly 
through the winter, ready to spread the disease on the 
new leaves in the spring. He also found the fun- 
gus capable of wintering on the bud-scales, without 
entering on a second stage of development. Young 
and weakly trees are more susceptible to its attacks than 
stronger growing trees. The pear and thorn are also 
subject to its attacks. The only sure remedy is to gather 
and destroy the leaves. 

4. Yellow Leaf Spots {Hendersonia Cydonice, C. 
and E.). — This is another fungus on 
quince leaves, resembling the MortMera 
mespili, except that the spots on the 
leaves are yellow and produce a thick- 
ening of the leaf, with a development 
on the under side of the spots like the 
bursting of the cluster cups of the Rcbs- 
tilia aurantiaca, only smaller. The henderIo^I ct- 
spores are elliptical, marked with three donta, magnified 
bars across, dividing them into four 400 diameters. 




92 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



parts, as shown in the cut. The destruction of affected 
leaves is recommended, especially as many of them are 
also affected with both of these fungi together. 

5. Leaf Mildew {Podosphcera tridactyla, Wall). — 
This disease consists of a parasitic white mildew spread- 
ing interlacing filaments over both surfaces of the leaves, 
but developed most perfectly on the upper side. The 
disease appears in June, producing a multitude of color- 
less spores, which sjiread the fungus rapidly to other 
leaves and trees. Late in July it produces its fruit 




Fig. 65.— LEAVES AFFECTED BY THE HENDEKSONIA CTBONIA. 

as so many dust-like dots of regular form and size. 
These round, dust-like specks are the sacks which 
contain the resting spores, which withstand the rigors oi 
winter, and reproduce the leaf mildew the next year. It 
is most thrifty on the leaves of a vigorous tree ; but, 
with the favor of shade, may thrive on a weakly tree. It 
is also found on the leaves of apple trees, and proves very 
injurious to cherry leaves, often causing them to fall 
prematurely. Sulphur dusted on the leaves when they 
are wet is recommended as a remedy. 



DISEASES OF THE QUINCE. 



93 



6. Leaf Blight. — This is very unlike the leaf blight 
of the apple and pear. The specimens examined have 
not yet revealed to us the cause. It first appears on the 
edges of the leaves ; sometimes on one side only, but more 
generally reaching nearly all the way around the leaf. At 
first it is of a reddish brown ; but as it extends inward 
toward the mid vein, it gradually assumes a deeper hue, 
till at last it is almost jet black, and covers very nearly 
all the blade of the leaf. As the disease progresses the 




Yig;. 66.— LEAF blight. 

edges of the tenderer leaves curl upward, and eventually 
the whole dies and falls. 

7. Quince Rot {Sphceropsis Cydonim, C. and E.). — 
This disease usually begins at a few points on the surface 
of the fruit, and spreads regularly in enlarging circles 
until the whole fruit is decayed. As these spots enlarge, 
the centers grow dark, and soon may be seen as a mass of 
black points, which contain a multitude of brown spores, 
each capable of spreading the disease. A sound quince 



94 QUIA'CE CULTURE. 

being inoculated with a piece of the surface of one dis- 
eased, the spores germinated, and the rotting slowly 
progressed to the twenty-second day, under a bell glass, 
when the decayed spot was an inch and a half in diam- 
eter, and showed fruiting points of the disease. 

So long as the wax-like covering of fruit remains per- 
fect, it is difficult for the spores of disease to affect it ; 
but the sting of an insect, the abrasion of a chafing limb, 
or a bruise will make a way for the germs of disease to 
enter. Hence the importance of great care in handling 
the fruit. No other preventive is known for this disease. 

8. Bark Bound or Hide Bound. — This may arise 
from the depredations of scale insects weakening the 
vitality of the cells, or it may arise from an undue reduc- 
tion of the top in pruning or grafting, producing a dis- 
proportion between the leaves and the numerous cells 
under the bark, by which their expansive force is weak- 
ened too much to push out the bark ; or injury to the 
roots may so far weal^en the power of these cells that 
they become unequal to the task required of them. Pro- 
vision is made for the expansion of the bark by the forma- 
tion of cork-like cells, called suher cells, which expand so 
as to rupture the outer bark, and allow a proper enlarge- 
ment of the growing tree. Every tree has its own suber 
cell, and so the rifts in the bark of each are according to 
its own peculiar character, no two appearing just alike. 
When, from any cause, the tree has become harh lound, 
a slit of the knife will help in doing what these cells 
failed to perform. The slit should be very carefully 
made, lest, instead of helping, it injure the tree by its 
severity. Be very sure the malady exists before the 
remedy is applied, or great harm may follow. 



WINTER-KILLING. 95 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
WINTER -KILLING. 

There is a difference in the hardiness of quince trees. 
Some varieties endure severe freezing better than others. 
A variety that lives one winter may die the next because 
of the changes surrounding it ; and so a tender variety 
may live, when one naturally more hardy dies. Sudden 
changes often work disastrously. This was seen in the 
winter of 1853-4 in a belt of country extending from 
New York to Michigan. Quince trees and pear trees on 
quince stocks were greatly injured by rapid successions 
of very warm and intensely cold weather. The result was, 
that nearly all the trees that were not sheltered were de- 
stroyed, or so weakened that they continued to die till 
late in the summer. The warmth had promoted sap 
circulation, and the sap, suddenly freezing, formed little 
crystals in the wood, which lacerated the fibers by every 
motion of the swaying trees. This cause may be supple- 
mented by such a freezing and thawing of the limbs and 
branches as dries the life out of them. In all such cases 
the injury to trees will be in proportion to the expos- 
ure, and so the protection of good wind-breaks is of 
great importance. In that season of such widespread 
loss, those trees that chanced to be sheltered from the 
winds escaped. It was also observed that the loss was 
not so great with trees on clayey soil that shed off the 
water, as on sandy soil that was filled with water. 

Trees transplanted in the fall, too late for the cut 
roots to heal, and for all to resume their normal func- 
tions, may in consequence fail to supply their tops with 
needed moisture, and they will become shriveled and 
winter-kill in consequence. The newly-set tree badly 
planted may suffer by the frost lifting its roots out of 



96 QUIKCE CULTURE. 

their places, in which case it is likely to be winter-killed. 
A mulch sufficient to protect the roots from freezing 
during the winter is a wise precaution, not only to pro- 
tect the newly-planted trees from intense cold, but will 
be a safeguard against winter-killing in those well estab- 
lished. It has been found highly beneficial to trees to 
have a mantle of snow cover the ground all winter, be- 
cause it protects the ground from sudden changes. A 
winter rain freezing on the limbs will do little harm, 
unless accompanied by winds, because there is no danger 
of drying out the sap. The cold may be severe enough 
to weaken the vitality of fruit-buds, and they may all 
drop off after they have blossomed. 

Trees are able to endure greater cold in a dry atmos- 
phere than in a moist one. In elevated situations, trees 
will endure a severer temperature than in valleys or low 
down the hill-sides. 

It will operate favorably to so cultivate the trees as to 
secure an early growth and ripening of the wood, that it 
may be in the best condition to endure the severity of 
winter frosts. When stimulated to grow very vigorously 
late in the season, the young wood is more likely to suffer 
than that produced earlier in the season. 

The thermometrical and hygrometrical conditions act 
together, and the hardiness of trees will be determined 
by the power of the tissues to withstand the pressure 
that will burst them if they contain too much sap, or to 
shrivel them by drying out their moisture, and so de- 
stroying their vitality. 

A wise precaution against winter-killing in sections 
where there is danger, is not to cultivate late in the 
season. The culture that stimulates a late growth of 
soft wood that does not ripen before the severity of 
winter sets in is to be avoided. The immature wood is 
easily injure.!, the grain is ruptured by freezing and 
thawing, and the disorganized cells in spring are no 



INSECT ENEMIES. 97 

longer able to perform their office. Secure an early 
growth of wood, that will ripen in time to be ready for 
all changes of weather, and you will have the satisfaction 
of having done wisely. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

INSECT ENEMIES OF THE QUINCE. 

Entomologists have estimated that, on an average, 
there are from four to six insect enemies to each variety 
of plants. The insect enemies of the quince exceed this 
average, but are not so numerous as the enemies of the 
apple. Quite a portion of them are alike the enemies of 
both. 

ATTACKING THE TRUNK AND BRANCHES. 

1. The Round-headed Apple-tree Borer {Saperda 
Candida, Fabr. ; Saperda hivittata, Say). — This is an 
American insect, first described by Thomas Say in 1824. 
Trees growing on high ground are, other things being 
equal, more largely infested than those on low land. In 
its larval state it is called the Round-headed Apple-tree 
Borer, to distinguish it from a flat-headed species, which 
also preys on the apple, but not on the quince tree. In 
its imagOj or perfect state, it is commonly known as the 
Two -striped Saperda. The full-grown larva is about an 
inch long, cylindrical in form, fleshy, and tapering from 
the head to the tail. The round head is of a chestnut- 
brown color, horny, and polished. The jaws are quite 
black, and fitted to cut the fiber of wood much as it is 
cut in boring with an auger. The chrysalis is lighter 
colored than the larva, and is marked by transverse rows 
of minute spines on the back, with a few at its extremity, 
which probably aid it in casting off its pupa skin. The 



98 



QUINCE CULTUKE. 



insect, in all its stages, will be readily recognized by the 
accompanying illustrations. 

During the months of May and June this beetle 
emerges through a round hole, having completed all its 
changes from the egg to the imago. It comes out in the 
night, and hides during the day among the leaves, which 
are now its food. The sexes pair at night, after which 
the female deposits her eggs in the bark at the collar of 
the tree. The eggs are the size of a small pin-head, and 
may be looked for from May till August. Their entire 
life history embraces about three years. Within about 




mm 




^'''iiiiijii'''' 



Fig. 67.— Larva. Fig. 68.— Chrysalis. Fig 

ROUNB-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER. 




Ikctlc. 



two weeks from the laying of the eggs, they hatch into a 
larva, which penetrates through the bark to the sap-wood 
the first season, where they form a burrow, and may 
often be detected by the discolored appearance of the 
bark of young trees, or by the fine-grained castings they 
have pushed out of their holes. They remain in the tree 
three years, becoming each year more destructive. Be- 
fore the end of this time, as they approach the comple- 
tion of their larval growth, they cut a passage through 
the heart-wood of the tree, extending it outward to the 
bark. These passages are cut very direct up to this 
point for a future exit, or they may be found turning 
abruptly back in any direction. With an instinct bor- 



IlfSECT ENEMIES. 99 

dering on intelligence, tlic larva now fills the upper part 
of its hole with its woody dust against the bark ; then 
turns round and fills it below with woody fibers of the 
heart- wood, when it again turns its head upward, and 
there rests till, in the next spring, the matured larva 
casts off its skin and reveals the chrysalis. In three 
weeks more the pupa has become a beetle, the soft parts 
soon harden, and in a few days it makes its way through 
the castings in the upper end of its passage, cuts a 
smooth round hole through the bark, about three-six- 
teenths of an inch across, from which it escapes. 

Eemedies. — The best remedy is to prevent the beetle 
laying the eggs in the bark of the tree. This may be 
done by wrapping petroleum paper, or any like substance, 
around the collar of the tree, letting it reach from the 
ground high enough to protect it. Alkaline washes 
have been found distasteful to this insect ; and a wash 
of strong soap-suds thickened with washing-soda will 
keep it away. Wash as early as May and June, and 
keep the ground clear of grass and weeds for a harbor. 
I have found clean culture a good protection when 
neglected trees were badly infested, and some were de- 
stroyed. A good formula for a wash is two pounds 
of soft soap and a quarter of a pound of sulphur in a 
pail of water. Apply with a swab or brush. 

Christopher Shearer, a very successful horticulturist 
of Pennsylvania, recommends a wash of four gallons of 
whitewash, two quarts of clay, two quarts of fresh cow 
dung, and one quart of strong lye, with water enough to 
mix well. Scrape the earth away from the collar of the 
tree, and apply with a swab or brush in May and August, 
reaching well up the tree. Return the earth that was 
removed. He finds it effective with the peach and 
apple trees as well as the quince. The main thing is to 
prevent the laying of the eggs, and this does it. 

Harris recommends plugging up their holes with cam- 



100 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



phor. Downing advises to heap ashes or lime about the 
collar of the tree. He would protect nurseries by wash- 
ing young trees with a solution of a pound of potash to a 
gallon of water. 

If the larvae have already got into the trees they should 
be dug out or destroyed in their holes. Annealed wire 
or small strips of whalebone have been found useful to 
run into the holes. Besides the summer examinations, 
it is well to look over the trees in the fall and winter to 
make sure the larvae are not in them. 

2. The Quince Scale (Aspidiotus Cydonim, Corn- 
stock). — This is an enemy found on quince trees in 
Florida. The scale is gray, and somewhat transparent. 
The shape is convex and the size only about six hun- 
dredths of an inch across. The remedy is a strong -solu- 
tion of potash or soft soap, applied with a swab or brush. 

3. The Woolly Aphis {Aphis lanigera or schizoneura, 
Hausmann). — The downy plant lice, now placed in the 

genus Eriosoma, are among the 
most destructive species. This 
aphis was imported on fruit trees 
from Europe, and yet in England 
it is called the American Blight. 
It is most commonly found on 
api^le trees in the colder sec- 
tions. It was on the quince tree 
in an apple orchard at Northamp- 
ton, Massachusetts, where it at- 
tracted my attention some years 
ago. The tree had numerous 
shoots like those that spring up around apple trees, and 
these were abundantly infested. I am thus particular in 
giving the location, as I have not seen it on quince trees 
farther south, and have not seen any notice of it on the 
quince by other writers. It may be readily recognized 
by the woolly covering from which it takes its name. 




2:. 70. — WO©LLT APHIS. 



INSECT EbfEMlES. iOl 

(Soe figure 70.) The numerous punctures they make 
ill the bark of the tender shoots produce warts or ex- 
crescences on the bark, till the limbs become sickly, the 
leaves turn yellow and drop off, and sometimes the whole 
tree dies. 

Remedies. — The lady-bugs and their larvae, the larvae 
of the Syrphus and lace-winged flies, and the little chal- 
cid fly (Aphelinus mail, Hald.), all feed on these plant- 
lice. The old bark should be scraped off wherever it 
makes a harbor for them, and then with a stiff brush 
they should be treated to a solution of lime and sulphur 
(five pounds of lime to one of sulphur in two gallons of 
water, heated till the sulphur is dissolved). The earth at 
the roots, as far as practicable, should be exchanged for 
fresh soil. A pound of potash in a gallon of water is 
effective. Another application is made, melting three 
ounces of resin wdth the same quantity of fish oil, and 
applying it warm with a paint brush. Spiders spin their 
webs over and feed on them at their leisure. 

4. The Seventeej^--Year Cicada, commonly called 
Locust {Cicada septendecim, Linn.). — This insect de- 
rives its name from the time it requires to pass through 
its several changes. The long intervals at which they 
appear, and the little damage they do to the quince, make 
any extended description of the seventeen-year locusts, 
however interesting, quite unnecessary here. It may be 
found in any good work on entomology. The damage 
done by these insects can not be prevented. They can 
not eat, and the only injury they do above ground is 
confined to the small branches in which they deposit 
tlieir eggs ; but when they go over a whole tree in this 
way it becomes a serious matter. These branches die 
and fall off, and there is nothing to dp but trim off the 
rough ends with a smooth cut. In the larva state they 
do much injury to the roots of trees. The birds, poultry, 
etc., destroy many. The plow destroys more in culti- 



10'^ QUINCE CULTURE. 

vatecl grounds. The work of these interesting insects, 
liovvever, is confined chiefly to our native woods, and 
their numbers, consequently, can not easily be reduced. 

CLIMBING CUT-WORMS (AgvoftdcB). 

Cut-worms are the caterpillars of widely-spread species 
of nocturnal moths. Most of them confine their depreda- 
tions to young and succulent plants, which they cut off 
just above or below the surface of the ground. Four 
species of this numerous family are in the habit of 
ascending trees at night, and doing serious damage 
by eating off the growing twigs and foliage. Or- 
chards in light sandy soil are most liable to' their 




Fig. 71.— MOTH. 

attacks. While the several species differ in size, in color 
and markings, both in the larva and imago state, they 
are much alike. In their general appearance they are 
smooth and naked larvae of some shade of gray, green, 
brown, or black, with dusky markings. The female lays 
about 600 eggs on the twigs of the trees, where they do 
their mischief. They eat at night, and are, therefore, 
seldom seen. Having finished their nocturnal meal, they 
fall to the ground, and hide in the earth. 

5. The Variegated Cut- Worm ( Agrotis sawcm,Hub- 
ner). The moth, with wings expanded, measures about 
an inch and three-quarters across. The fore wings are 
grayish brown, marked with brownish black. The hind 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



103 



wings are white and pearly, shaded toward the margin 
with pale brown. The chrysalis is of a deep mahogany 
brown, with dotted markings on each side, and sharp 




Fig. 73.— CHRYSALIS OP THE VARIE- 
GATED CUT-WORM. 





Fig. 73.— LAUVA OF THE VARIE- 
GATED CUT-WORM. 



Fig. 74.~EGGS OF THE VA- 
RIEGATED CUT-WORM, 
a. Magnified ; 6, Natural Size. 



pointed at the tip. The larva pupates in the gronnd, 
where it forms a smooth, oval, earth cocoon. The larva 
becomes full grown by the middle of June, when it is of 




Fig. 75.— LARVA AND MOTH OF THE DARK-SIDED CUT-WORM. 

a dnll flesh-color, mottled with brown and black, hav- 
ing elongated velvety black markings on the sides. 

6. The Dark-sided Cut-Worm {Agrotis Cochranii, 
Kiley). The moth is light gray, marked and shaded 
with brown, and smaller than the Variegated. The larva is 
a little over an inch long, with dark ashen gray sides and 



104 



QUIN^CE CULTURE. 



lighter color above. The chrysalis in the earth cocoon is 
about seven-tenths of an inch long, yellowish brown with 
darker bi-own markings. 

7. The Climbing Cut-AVorm (Agrotis scandens, 
Eiley) is very destructive to buds and tender stems and. 

leaves. The body of the moth 
is about seven-tenths of an inch 
long, and the spread wings meas- 
ure nearly an inch and a half 
across. The fore wings are of 
a light bluish gray with darker 
markings. The hind wings are 

Fig. 76.-AGROTIS SCANDENS. ^^^^.^y ^j^-^g^ rpj^^ j^^.^^ -^ ^^^^^^ 

an inch and a half long, of a light yellowish gray, varie- 
gated with dull green. It has a dark line along the back, 
with fainter lines along the sides. The spiracles are 
black. The chrysalis is brown. 

8. The Mamestra Picta, or W-marked Cut- Worm 
{Agi'otis clandestma, Harris), feeds on succulent plants, 
low bushes, and the buds of trees. It is supposed to 
have two broods a year. The first transformation of the 






Fig-. 77. — W-MARKED 
CUT-WORM. 



Fig. 78. — MOTH OF W-MARKED 
CUT-WORM. 



chrysalis to the moth occurs about the first of June and 
the second near the end of August. The fore wings are 
of a dark ash-gray, marked by deeper colored lines, mak- 
ing their zigzag course a distinct W, near the outer hind 
margin. The hind wings are a dull white, faintly tinged 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



105 



with brown on the outer edge. The chrysah's is of tlie 
shining brown color common to the species. The larva 
is light yellow, variegated with three broad, black, longi- 
tudinal stripes, one on each side, the other on the top of 
the back. The head, belly, and feet are tawny. The 
lateral black stripe consists of numerous transverse black 
marks on a pure white ground. On account of its 
stripes, Dr. Melsheimer called it the zebra caterpillar. 
It does not conceal itself in the ground until it is ready 
to pupate. 

Remedies. — The common red ants capture and kill 
them. Insectivorous birds devour them. As prevention 





Fig. 79.— CALOSOMA SCEUTATOK. Fig. 80. — CALOSOMA CALIDUM. 



is better than cure, we may attract the moths by little 
bonfires, and destroy them. We may attract them by 
cider, and water sweetened and flavored with vinegar. 
We may keep the larva from climbing the trees by 
fastening around them strips of tin or zinc like inverted 
funnels. Cut-worms, like other caterpillars, have de- 
stroyers in the Tachina flies, and the Ichneumons are 
their parasitic enemies. I discovered one of these climb- 
ing worms a few years ago in the very process of destruc- 
tion by parasites. The worms crawled through the skin, 
leaving no visible mark, and then spun their cocoons on 



lOt) QUINCE CULTURE. 

the Stem that supported the cut-worm. Further obser- 
vation showed that they pupated ten days before coming 
forth to repeat their work of destruction. The female 
of this parasite lays about 100 eggs, which shows that 
they are capable of doing much good service. The car- 
nivorous beetles Calosoma scrutator and Caloso^na cali- 
dum (Fabr.) are very active in hunting and eating all 
the species of cut- worms. The latter is a very beautiful 
beetle, with copper-colored spots on the wing covers. 
Their aid as destroyers of noxious insects should be 
better known and appreciated. 

ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 

9. Caterpillar of the Handmaid Moth, or the 
Yellow-necked Apple-tree Caterpillar [Datana 
ministra, Drury). — Of all insects that prey upon the 
leaves of quince trees, I have found the caterpillar 
of the Handmaid Moth most destructive. As one of 




Fig. 81— EGGS OF MOTH. 

its names suggests, it is also destructive of the foliage 
of the apple and also of the cherry. The eggs are laid 
on the under side of a leaf, selecting one near the end of 
a twig. They are fastened in nearly straight rows to one 
another as well as to the leaf. They vary from about 150 
to 180, each the size of a small pin head. They hatch at 
varying times from July onward, occasional broods com- 
ing out as late as September. At first they only eat the 



INSECT EN^EMIES. 



107 



pulp of the leaf, leaving a pretty network of veins ; but 
in a few days they devour the whole leaf, and when full 
grown sweep every thing before them. Side by side in 
solid phalanx along the twigs and branches, they feed 



Fig. 82.— BEFORE THE FIBST 
MOULT. 



Fig. 85.— BEFORE THE FOURTH MOULT. 



Fig. 83.— BEFORE THE SECOND 
MOULT. 




Fig. 84.— BEFORE THE THIRD 

MOULT. Fig. 86.— AFTER THE FOURTH MOULT. 

gregariously, resting between meals in the same order, 
with both head and tail recurved over the body. If 
touched or otherwise disturbed they at once throw their 
heads from side to side in a spiteful manner, or let them- 
selves down by a silken thread, always double, which 
they rapidly spin out of their mouths. Their bodies are 





Fig. 88.— CHRYSALIS. 



Fig. 87.— LARVA AT BEST. 



well covered with long, soft, whitish hairs. They moult 
four times, and attain their full growth in five or six 
weeks, and are then about two inches long. A black 
stripe extends along the back, and three black stripes 



108 QUINCE CULTURE. 

alternate with four yellow ones on each side. With 
expanded wings the moth measures about two inches 
across, sometimes two and a half. 

The sexes have some points of difference. The an- 
tennae of the male have two rows of fringe beneath, with 
very short hairs nearly to their tips. In the female the 
antennae are naked. She is larger than the male. Their 
color is a light brov/n. The head and a large square 
spot on the thorax are dark chestnut brown. The hairs 
on this spot can be erected so as to form a kind of crest. 
The fore wings are slightly notched on their hinder 
margins, with from three to five transverse brown lines, 
and one or two dark spots in the middle (sometimes 




Fig. 89.— HANDMAID MOTH. Fig. 90.— PARASITIC FLY. 

lacking), and a short, oblique, dark line near the outer 
margin. In repose, the hinder part of the body is 
raised up, and the fore-legs stretched out before the 
body. The illustrations will aid in recognizing them at 
every stage of their life history. 

Remedy. — They are easily found by the naked limbs 
they have stripped of their foliage, and also by their 
droppings on the ground, and when found can be pulled 
off and cruslied. The Tachina flies deposit their egg^^ in 
them. A small Ichneumon is also known to prey on them. 

10. The Fall Web-Wohm {Hypliantria textor, Har- 
ris). — The appearance of web-tents in trees after the 
tent caterpillar of early spring has disappeared, has 
raised the question whether there be not a second brood. 



INSECT EN^EMIES. 109 

But the tent caterpillar of spring only preys on a few 
kinds of trees, while the later sort are ready to work over 
a very wide range. They are much smaller, and eat 
very much longer. The fall web- worm is a caterpillar 
of the family of Arctians or Tiger moths. The name 
Hyphantria means a weaver, and is very appropriate and 
descriptive ; for the first thing they do when hatched is 
to spin a web on the leaf where they are hatched, under 
which they eat the pulp of the leal Their webs are so 
closely woven as to hold their excrements as a fine powder. 
The moth is white, with tawny yellow fore-thighs and 
dark-colored feet. The antenna of the males are doubly 
feathered beneath, and those of the female have two rows 
of teeth on the under side. The expanded wings meas- 




Fig. 91— Larva. Fig. 92. — CJirysalis. Fig. 93.— Winged Insect. 

FALL Yt^EB-WORM. 

ure about an inch and a quarter across. In repose they 
are not crossed on the back, but are roofed or sloped 
down on each side of the body. It only flies at night, 
when it lays its eggs on leaves near the end of the twigs, 
during June and July. In the North there is but one 
brood a year, but in the South there is often a brood in 
Jane and another in August. These caterpillars feed on 
the quince, ai^ple, pear, and a good many other trees and 
shrubs. They attain their full growth in about three 
months, when they separate to seek places of conceal- 
ment, where they pupate in thin and almost transparent 
cocoons, in which they remain through the winter as 
chrysalids. The full-grown caterpillar is over an inch 
long, with a slender body. Their general color is gray, 
with a tinge of greenish-yellow. Trees defoliated by 



110 



QUIN^CE CULTURE. 



them are likely to be barren, because it is too late to 
form new foliage with fruit buds. 

Remedy. — Gather and destroy them in their webs. 
The Spined Soldier-bug {Podisus spinosus, Dallas) pierces 
their bodies with its beak, and sucks them empty. There 
are birds that pierce their v/ebs and destroy them in 
spite of their concealment. 

11. The BaCx-Worm, Basket-AVorm, or Drop-Worm 
(Thyridopteryx ephemermformis, Haw). — The bag- worm 




a, Larva ; 6, Chrysalis ; c. Female ; d. Male ; e. Female bag opened ; /, The 

Worm and its Bag ; g. The Young. 

Fig. 94.— THE BAG-WORM, BASKET-WORM, OR DROP-WORM. 

of the United States has a range from Alabama on the 
south to Massachusetts on the north. The Germans 
call it Sack-trager (sack-bearer). It feeds on almost 
every variety of trees, including the quince. The names 
applied to this caterpillar are significantly descriptive. 
No sooner is it hatched than it begins to make a bag- 
like house on a tender leaf. Standing on the leaf, with 
its little tail turned up, it spins a silken ring around it- 
self, fastening bits of the leaf on the outside, and adding 
to the lower edge of the ring as they increase it uj^ward. 



INSECT ENEMIES. HI 

until it reaches the tail, forming a sort of cone, as at fig- 
ure 94,/. As the caterpillars increase in size they enlarge 
their houses upward, until the elongation makes their bags 
so large and heavy they hang to one side, instead of being 
upriglit, as at/. They are full grown about the end of 
July when hatched the last of May or early in June. 
The habit of the full-grown worm of letting itself down 
by its silken threads, suggested the name of Drop-ivorm. 
When they travel they extend the head and enough of 
the body to use three pairs of legs, each provided with a 
strong claw, while the five pairs of very short legs within 
their case retain a strong hold with clinging hooks. 
They moult four times while growing. At each time 
they close the mouth of the sack, and retire for two days 
to cast off their skins. In closing the bag, a hole is 
always left at the end large enough to throw out their 
excrement and their cast-off skins. The body is cylin- 
drical and soft, and that portion usually concealed in the 
case is lighter colored. At maturity they fasten their bags 
securely to the twigs of the tree, instinctively avoidino- 
the leaf-stalk that will fall. Then they line them with 
soft silk, and turn round, with their heads toward the 
lower orifice, where they wait to cast their skins and be- 
come chrysalids. Up to this change the sexes have been 
ahke in appearance ; but henceforth they are easily dis- 
tinguishable. The male chrysalis has the form of ordi- 
nary chrysalids, being about half the size of the female. 
The female chrysalis has no sign of encased wings, legs, 
and antennae, appearing as a naked, yellowish bag of ei^gs 
with a ring of soft light brown hair near the tail! After 
three weeks the male chrysalis works down to the end of 
his bag, and, hanging half way out, bursts his skin, and 
emerges as a moth with a black body and glossy wings, 
as at d. The male is proportionally stout bodied, with 
a long abdomen, and broadly pectinated antennai. The 
female has neither wings nor legs. The ba^-worm is 



112 



QUINCE (CULTURE. 



exceedingly hardy and vigorous, and readily adapts itself 
to any food available. 

Eemtdies. — There is no surer method of destroying 
them than to gather the cocoons as they hang on the trees 
and burn them. They are easily seen during the winter. 
This is emphatically applying the ounce of prevention 
that will save the pound of cure. Two insect friends aid 
us, both ichneumons. The Cryptus inquisitor (Say) is 
about two-tifths of an inch long. The Hemiteles thyri- 
dopteryx (Riley) is about one-third of an inch long. 





Fig. 95. 

CRYPTUS INQUISITOR. 



Fig. 96.— i¥a?e. Fig. Q7.— Female. 

HEMITELES THTRIDOPTERTX. 



Five or six of these sometimes occupy the body of a 
single bag-worm. After destroying the worm, they spin 
for themselves, within its cocoon, small white cocoons. 

12. The Corn Emperor Moth, the Id Emperor 
Moth {HypercMria lo, Linn., Satiirnia lo, Harris, Hy- 
perchiria varia, Walker). — The common name of this 

moth probably came from 
its feeding on corn and for- 
aging on both trees and veg- 
etables, a very uncommon 
habit with insects. It not 
only feeds on the quince, but 
a wide range of trees and 
vegetables. The moth is 
very beautiful, and only flies at night. The sexes differ 
both in size and color, the male being the smaller. His 
color is a deep yellow, with purplish brown markings. His 







Fig. 98. — LARVA OF THE CORN 
EMPEROR MOTH. 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



li:^ 



fore wings are marked with a zigzag line near the base, 
and two oblique wavy lines near the outer margin, with 
other spots on the middle forming the letters A, H, all 
of a purplish red color. The hind wings are hairy, and 




purplish red next to the body, with a narrow curved 
band of like color near their posterior margin, and within 
this band there is a curved black line. On the middle 
of the wing is a black spot with a bluish center, on which 
there is a silver-white line. The upper side is ochre- 
yellow ; the head and thorax purplish brown. The an- 
tennae are broadly pectinated, while in the female they 




Tig. 100.— CORN EMPEROR MOTH, MALE. 

are feathered very narrow. Tlie anterior wings of the 
female are purplish brown, or a faded cream color. The 
zigzag and wavy lines across them are gray, and marked in 
the middle with a brown spot, surrounded by an irregular 



114 QUINCE CULTURE. 

gray line, and towards the base are covered with a thick 
wool-like covering. The posterior wings resemble those 
of the male, as do also the head and thorax. The ex- 
panse of the wings is from two and three-quarter inches 
to three inches and a half. 

Soon after pairing the female lays her eggs in clusters 
of twenty to thirty. The eggs are top-shaped, flattened 
at the top and compressed on the sides ; about one- 
twentieth of an inch in diameter, and creamy white, Avith 
a yellowish spot above, which gradually increases in 
color as they come to maturity, when it is almost black, 
and the 3'el low larva show through the sides. Beginning 
their work as early as June and extending it nearly 
through September, it is easy to see that they may do 
great harm. The broods remain together till near ma- 
turity, when they separate for pupating. The full-grown 
caterpillar is two and a half inches loiig, pea-green, with 
a broad brown stripe, edged white, low down on the 
body. Beginning with the fourth ring, tliere is a brown 
triangular spot on the under side of each. The breath- 
ing pores are yellow, ringed with brown. Each segment 
of the body is dotted with little warts, armed with 
clusters of branching spines. The prick of these sharp 
spines irritates the skin like the sting of nettles. Up to 
the age when they separate, the groups move in a regular 
order, guided by the thread spun by the leader. They 
moult four times, attaining maturity in August and Sep- 
tember, according to the time they were hatched, when 
the caterpillar will measure two and a half inches in length. 
The full-grown larva descends to the ground, where it 
draws together leaves or any other convenient material 
for an outer covering, within which it makes a cocoon 
of tough, gummy, brown silk, in which it changes to a 
chrysalis. 

Remedies. — If not discovered before they are half 
grown, when together, they can be readily found and 



INSECT EITEMIES. 



115 



destroyed after they separate, by their large droppings. 
The larvaB are attacked by two parasites; one a very small, 
unnamed, four-winged fly, the other the Long-tailed 
Ophion {Ophion macrurum, Linn.). 

13. The Vaporer Moth, the White-marked Tus- 
sock Moth {Orgyia leucostigma, Smith and Abbr.).— 
This moth takes the name Orgyia from a word signifying 




Fig, 101.— LARVA OF WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH. 

to stretch out the hands, on account of its resting with tlie 
fore legs extended. The English name, Vapor Moth, is 
apphed as descriptive of the males ostentatiously flying 
by day, or vaporing, when most other moths keep con"- 
cealed. The name White-marked Tussock Moth is ap- 
plied as descriptive of the four little hairy tufts on tiie 





Fig. \(^.-Pupa. Fi.-. 103.-Jfafe. 

WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK MOTH. 

back j3f the caterpillar. On each side is a row of smaller 
tufts of fine, yellow hairs. A narrow dark stripe runs 
along the back, and a wider dusky stripe runs along each 
side. There are two long black plumes on the first ring 
and one on the top of the eleventh ring. They are 



116 QUINCE CULTURE. 

something over an inch long at maturity. The body is 
bright yellow, and the head coral red. Though not 
gregarious, they are often numerous enough to be very 
destructive to the foliage of the quince and other trees 
and shrubs. There are two broods in a year. The first 
hatch about the middle of May, and the second late in 
July. The first brood complete their growth by the 
middle of July, spin their cocoons on the leaves or 
branches of trees, and enter into the chrysalis state. 
The chrysalis has little downy hairs, and three oval 
clusters of bran-like scales on the back. They pupate 
eleven days, when the female comes forth wingless, and 
the male with wings that expand an inch and three- 
eighths. The wings are ashen gray, crossed by darker 
wavy bands on the upper pair, which are also marked by a 
black spot near the tip, and a very small white crescent by 
the outer angle. Their antennae are broadly pectinated. 
The body of the female is a very thick, oblong oval, in 
distinctly marked sections, and of a lighter gray than 
the male. She waits on the outside of her cocoon for 
the coming of the male, and after meeting him lays her 
eggs in an irregular mass on the top of the cocoon, which 
is spun between the leaves, and then covers them with a 
frothy looking substance, which hardens to brittleness, 
and is then impervious to water. After laying her eggs 
she drops to the ground and dies. The young larvae, 
when seriously disturbed, let themselves down by silken 
threads ; and when the danger seems past they climb up 
the threads to regain their former situation. 

Remedies. — The leaves attached to the cocoon show 
where their eggs are laid, so they can easily be found 
during the winter, and destroyed. There are nine species 
of two and four winged flies that are known to be para- 
sites of this insect in the larval state. 

14. Pear-tree Slug (Selandria [Blennocampa] Ce- 
rasi, Peck). — This caterpillar is called a slug, from its 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



117 



appearance in the larva state. The name Blennocamja 
signifies a slimy caterpillar. Its favorite trees are the 
pear, cherry, and quince, and it is sometimes found on 
the plum and mountain ash. Ordinarily there are but 
few on a leaf, but sometimes the leaves are fairly spotted 
with them. Thirty have been counted on a single leaf. 
Professor Peck, of Massachusetts, wrote its natural history 
in 1790 with such critical accuracy that little has been 
since added to our knowledge of its life history. It is 
now quite generally spread over the country. This slug 
comes from the eggs of a saw-fly, about one-fifth of an 
inch long, resembling the common house-fly. Its body 
is glossy black. The first two pairs of legs are clay- 




Fig. \0A.— Female. 



Fig. 105. 

PEAR-TREE SLUG. 



-Larva. 



colored, with dark thighs. The hind legs are dull black 
with clay-colored knees. The wings are transparent, 
slightly convex, and uneven on the upper side, with 
brownish veins. They reflect the changeable colors of 
the rainbow, with a smoky tinge in a band across the 
middle of the first pair. 

The female is provided with a saw-like appendage, 
with which she cuts a curved incision through the skin 
of the leaf, in which she lays her eggs singly, and gener- 
ally on the under side, from about the middle of May 
into June. In fourteen days they begin to hatch. At 
first the slugs are white ; but soon a slimy matter oozes 
through the skin, and covers their backs and sides with an 
olive-colored, sticky coat. The head is small, of a dark 



118 QUIJ^"CE CULTURE. 

chestnut color, and is entirely concealed under the body, 
which tapers almost to a point at the tail, whicli in re- 
pose is turned up a little. They have twenty very short 
legs, a pair under each segment, except the fourth and 
the last. They grow for twenty-six days, casting their 
skins five times, and eating them every time till the last. 
After the last moult they show a clean yellow skin, free 
from viscidity. They now show the head and segments 
of the body very plainly, and are about half an inch long. 
In a few hours after this last moult, they leave the tree 
and burrow a few inches in the ground, where they form 
little oblong-oval cavities, lined with a sticky, glossy 
substance. In these cells tbey pupate ; and in sixteen 
days the change is complete from the worm to the fly, 
which bursts the cell and crawls out to seek its mate. 

The flies of the first brood lay eggs for a second in 
July and August, and the second brood go into the 
ground in September and October, where they remain 
till the next spring, when they in turn change to flies. 
Where they are very abundant the foliage is entirely de- 
stroyed, and before the trees can again clothe them- 
selves with leaves, it is too late to perfect fruit buds, and 
barrenness must follow. If they are allowed to continue 
their work year after year^, the trees not only become 
barren, but die. 

Remedies. — We may catch the flies if we see them 
laying their eggs, for they are not very shy. Saunders 
says, if the tree is shaken while they are at work, *^they 
fall to the ground, where, folding their antennae under 
their bodies and bending the head forward and under, 
they remain for a time motionless." 

Powdered hellebore in water, an ounce to two gallons, 
or either of the poisons, white arsenic, London purple, 
or Paris green, a teaspoonful to two gallons of water, or 
air-slacked lime, or ashes, or any dry dust, or slug-shot, 
sprayed or dusted on the leaves, all seem to be effective. 



INSECT ENEMIES. 119 

I have found the dry earth under the trees all-sufficient, 
if applied before they are ready to go into the ground, 
and the poisons may therefore be avoided. 

A very minute ichneumon fly, a species of Encyrtus, 
deposits an Qgg in the Qgg of the saw-fly; and from this 
tiny Qgg a maggot is hatched, which lives on the Qgg of 
the slug-fly, and when it has consumed it, becomes 
a chrysalis, and then a fly. Prof. Peck found that many 
eggs of the second brood were destroyed by ^'^tliis atom 
of existence." The Yireo a:id Cat-bird eat them from 
the leaves. In dusting tall trees a sieve fastened on 
the end of a pole is a convenient implement. An old 
tin can well punctured with holes is a very cheap sieve 
for the purpose. 

15. The Polyphemus Moth {Telea Polyphemus, 
Sim; Attacus Polyphemus, Harris). It is called Poly- 
phemus after one of tlie giants in mythology bearing this 
name. It is one of the largest of the native American 
silk worms, belonging to the genus Attacus. The wings 
of the female spread fully six inches ; those of the 
male a little less. It is of a dull ochre-yellow color, 
clouded with black in the middle of the wings. On each 
of the fore wings, near the center, there is an eye-like 
spot transparent in the center, crossed by light lines, and 
surrounded by rings of white, red, yellow, and black. 
Before the eye-spots of the hind wings are large blue 
spots, shading into black. On the front margin of the 
fore wings there is a gray stri^^e, which crosses the fore 
part of the thorax, and near the base of these wings are 
two short red lines, edged with white. At their tips are 
also two small dark spots. The hind wings are cut off 
almost square at the corners, and near their margins 
have wavy lines like those on the fore wings. The an- 
tennae of the males are very broadly pectinated ; of the 
females, lightly feathered. The combinations of form, 
color, and markings make them very beautiful. 



120 



QUIJs^CE CULTURE. 



Finding the larvae every year on some of my quince 
trees, I have studied their habits with a great deal of in- 
terest. So far as I know, I am the first to prove that 




Fig. 106 — THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH, FEMALE. 

they have two broods a year. Packard, is certainly mis- 
taken when he speaks of ''our native species bearing but 
a single crop of worms," for this one is double-brooded. 
The chrysalis that winters in the cocoon is proportion- 
ately short and thick, of a reddish brown, and distinctly 




Fig. 107.— THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH, MALE. 

marked in cylindrical rings. The larvae of the first brood 
only pupate about twenty days, spinning their cocoons 
in June and July, according to the time they were 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



121 



hatched ; for the cocoons that winter, vary considerably 
in tlie time of bringing out their moths. They generally 
come out late in May and on into June. Then they lay 
their eggs, usually singly, on the under side of leaves, 
each moth laying several 
hundred, which hatch into 
caterpillars in ten or twelve 
days. The eggs are one- 
tenth of an inch across, 
much flattened, and of a 
color approaching to white. 
At first the abdomen of the 
female is so heavy with the abundance of the eggs that 
she flies only short distances. 

The caterpillar is a shade of green so near like the 
leaves around it, one often has some diflSculty in discov- 
ering it, even after he has found where to look by its 




Fig. 108. — CHRYSALIS OF POLT- 
PHEMUS MOTH. 




"Fig, 109.— WORM OF THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH. 

large droppings, and also because of its habit in repose 
of clinging to the under side of the twig with the 
back down ; and the length of the body is so greatly 
contracted as to hunch up the segments. It has twelve 
large segments, each nearly as thick as a man's finger 
when the body is shortened to two inches ; but when ex- 



122 QUINCE CULTURE. 

tended to three inches, as it often is in fcrateling, the 
thickness is greatly reduced. 

The worm moults four times, at intervals of ten days, 
and then a fifth time after twenty days. Soon after the 
last moult it draws a few leaves together, within wliich 
it spins a short, thick cocoon of pure silk. In confine- 
ment I have found it spins enough of its cocoon in a 
single night to entirely hide itself ; but it evidently con- 
tinues to spin much longer on the inside, as its motions 
indicate. Like all its congeners, it spins a double thread 
from its mouth, gumming it enough to make it strongly 
adhesive, not only to all points of attachment, but to all 
parallel and intersecting threads. When finished it is 




Fig. 110.— COCOON OF THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH. 

water-proof. It pupates soon after the cocoon is com- 
plete, and in about twenty days the moths of the first 
brood appear. 

The twelve segments of the larva are each marked 
with three side rows of very bright yellow spots. The 
seven segments in front of the posterior also have a 
very bright line or bar, slightly inclined forward, and 
reaching from the dot of the upper row to that of the 
lower row, and passing the dot of the middle row. On 
the back is a row of small hairy elevations, one on the 
top of each segment. The head is pale brown, the spi- 
racles pale orange, and the V-shaped band around the 
tail is a purplish brown. The feet of the first three seg- 
ments are sharp claws ; the next two segments are foot- 



INSrXT EI^^EMIES. 123 

less, followed by four with very strong powers of attach- 
ment; then two more are footless. The terminal segment 
has pale brown feet. 

They feed on the oak and elm as well as the quince. 
Harris was mistaken in saying that the *^ outer covering 
of leaves which fall off in the autumn bear the enclosed 
tough oval cocoons to the ground." I have always found 
those on the quince fastened securely around the stem, 
so as to avoid the danger of falling to the ground. The 
second brood spin their cocoons in August and September, 
and these furnish the winter quarters for the chrysalids. 




Tig. 111.— LONG-TAILED OPHIOTT. 

As soon as they are out of the cocoon the limp wings 
unfold, and fchey crawl to some place where they can 
hang and dry, all which takes place in an hour, when 
they can fly. 

Remedies. — At the annual pruning, such cocoons as 
have escaped previous gathering should be looked for 
and destroyed. During the summer and fall, the larvae 
may be subdued by hand picking, the place of their loca- 
tion being found by their large droppings. Insectivorous 
birds and poultry feed on them. It is estimated that 
four out of five of the larvae of this moth are destroyed 



124 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



by its parasitic enemies. The largest, and perhaps the 
commonest, is the Long-tailed Ophion i^Opliion macru- 
rum, Linn.). It is a large yellowish brown ichneumon, 
that lays its eggs on the skin of the larvae, to which they 
adhere by the gum surrounding them, and hatch in a few 
days. A two-winged tachina fly is also often found as a 
parasite on this caterpillar. Its larva is a fleshy and foot- 
less grub, of a translucent yellow, and about half an inch 
long. 

16. Cotton Tuft (Lagoa crispata, Packard). — This is 
a very singular variety of the caterpillar family, which 

derives its name from the 
crinkled, woolly hairs on the 
fore wings of the parent 
moth. The thorax and 
lower part of the sides are a 
slate-colored, dusky orange. 
It makes its cocoon by inter- 
weaving its long hairs with 
its silk. The cocoon is long, 
cylindrical, and dense. The 
skin of the very thin pupa 
is found protruding from 
has escaped. When I first 
saw the Lagoas on the quince trees, the caterpillars were 
about a third of an inch long and looked like so many tufts 
of white cotton. Hence the common name I have given 
it. After they had moulted, and grown to about three- 
quarters of an inch in length, they appeared less hairy, 
the back being wide in proportion to the length, with the 
corrugated parts conjoined, reminding one of a trilobite. 

17. The Apple-tree Aphis {Aphis mali, Fabr. ; 
Aphis malifolicB. Fitch). The name Aphis means to 
exhaust, and is well applied to this little insect, which 
proves itself a great exhauster of vitality on all trees on 
which it lives. They have small heads, armed with 




112.— COTTON TUFT, 



a, cocoou natural size ; h, early appear- 
ance ; c, advanced growth ; d, ma- 
tured larvae, 

the cocoon after the moth 



INSECT ENEMIES. 125 

three- join ted beaks, which puncture the tender foliage, 
and through which they suck out the juices of plants. 
Their eyes are round, without eyelets. Their antennae 
are long and tapering. Their legs are long and slender. 
There are but two joints to their feet. Their wings are 
nearly triangular, and the upper wings, longer than the 
body, are nearly twice as large as the lower. In repose 
these wings cover the body like a steep roof. 

The most wonderful thing about them is the way they 
multiply. The mides die soon after they pair in autumn. 
The females lay their eggs on the bark near the leaf buds, 
and then die. In spring, wdien the leaves begin to grow, 
the eggs hatch and they begin their depredations. All 




Fig. 113. — THE GREEN APHIS. 

the young lice are wingless females. In ten or twelve 
days they attain to maturity, and by a viviparous genera- 
tion they begin to give birth to a daily increase of about 
twenty. This second generation are also wingless fe- 
males, and soon multiply by the same process as did the 
first. Thus they multiply throughout the season, w^ith- 
out the appearance of a single male, till in autumn they 
produce a brood of both sexes, as well as the viviparous 
form already described. During the summer, some 
of the females acquire wings, and, dispersing to other 
trees, found new colonies. They are generally wingless, 
but when winged, look like the males, with a black head, 
thorax, and antennae, black dots in a row along each 



126 QUINCE CULTURE. 

side, black nectaries and tail appendage.' The neck is 
green, the body is yellowish green, striped often with 
a deeper green. The young are almost white. The 
wings are transparent, with dark veins. 

When they become gorged with sap, the excess is 
thrown out through two little tubes, which project, one 
on each side, from the anterior part of the body. These 
are their nectaries, through which they eject a honeyed 
fluid known as honey dew. To feed on this, a variety of 
ants and flies will be found to visit them. The ants, 
with whom they live on friendly terms, stroke the 
aphides witii their antennae to induce them sooner to 
void this sweet liquid, which they hastily devour. 

Experiment has shown them capable of producing 
eleven generations in seven months, when frost closed the 
opportunity. In a heated room they continued to repro- 
duce a constant succession, without the intervention of 
males, for four years. Even then there was nothing to 
show why it might not have been continued still longer. 
Dr. Burnett considers this anomalous mode of increase 
as a process of hudding, and that the whole series, like 
the leaves of a tree, constitute only one generation, 
resulting from the previous union of the sexes. Eeaumur 
proved one capable of increasing to six thousand millions 
in five generations. The leaves of trees infested with 
aphides soon become distorted, or curled back so as to have 
their tips touch the twig whence they sprung, thus pro- 
tecting them from the sun and rain. 

Remedies. — Tlie eggs can be destroyed by a wash of 
caustic lime or soda. The young may be destroyed by 
alkaline solutions, and by tobacco water, made by boiling 
a pound of stems in a gallon of water. Twigs can be 
bent into it with but little waste of the solution. Small 
birds in winter hunt over the trees for its eggs, and in 
summer for the lice. The Ichneumon fly deposits her 
egg in the aphis, and this soon produces a destroyer. 



INSECT ENEMIES. 1^7 

Tho Aphis-lions and the Lace-winged flies produce larvae 
which destroy them in abundance. Myriads of aphides 
are destroyed by Lady-birds and their hirvae. There are 
nearly a hundred species of Lady-hi7'ds, all of which are 
our helpers. I have found the large black ant of great 
service. They concentrate on limbs infested with lice, 
and clean them off. I count each nest of ants worth a 
dollar a year as insecticides. 

The Syrphus flies {Syr pirns politus, Say) lay one egg 
in a group of plant lice, which hatches out a footless, 
eyeless, flattened, wrinkled, green and purple maggot. 
Their bodies are supple, and their mouths are provided 
with a triple-pointed dart, with which they pierce the 
aphides, and suck them dry. 

A black aphis appears some years in considerable num- 
bers on my quince cuttings, just in time to destroy open- 
ing buds. Later I have found it in large numbers on 
the young shoots of growing trees. I have not yet 
determined with certainty its position in the aphis 
family. 

18. Katy-did, the Broad-winged Katy-did (Cyr- 
tophyllus co7icauus,Siiy; Platyphyllum coucavum, Harris). 
— Platyjihyllum means a broad wing, and is used to dis- 
tinguish this from the Southern Katy-did, which belongs 
to the genus Phylhptera. It is a green grasshopper of the 
order Ortlioptera, and derives its common name from the 
note of the male, which is produced by a kind of taboret. 
The triangular overlapping part of each wing-cover forms 
a strong half-oval frame, in which a thin, transparent 
membrane is stretched. The friction of the taboret 
frames . against each other when the wing-covers are 
opened and shut, produces several distinct notes closely 
resembling articulate sounds, and corresponding with 
the number of times the wing-covers are opened and 
shut. Li the stillness of the night these notes may be 
heard a long distance, as rival notes answer from adjacent 



128 QUII!^CE CULTURE. 

trees with emphatic assurance ^'Katy did, siie did." 
These notes are continued all night. 

The body is pale green ; the wings and wing-covers are 
of a deeper shade. The legs are also green, and very 
long. The thorax is rough, marked by two slightly 
transverse furrows ; and being curved down a little on 
each side, witli a slightly rounded elevation behind, 
somewhat resembles a saddle. The insect is about an 
inch and a half long, the female having a projecting 
ovipositor. The wings are shorter than the wing-covers, 
which, with their strong midrib and regular venation, 
much resemble a leaf. These large wing-covers are 
both oval and concave, and inclose the body within, 
meeting above and below at their edges like the two 
parts of a bivalve shell. The piercer of the female is 
broad, laterally compressed, and curved like a cimeter ; 
and in both sexes there are two little thorn-like projec- 
tions from the middle of the breast between the fore legs. 
The antennae are very long and slender. They attain 
maturity in September and October, when the female 
lays her eggs in two intersecting rows of eight or ten 
each, along the twig of the tree, the bark being rough- 
ened under them. The eggs are slate-brown, about one- 
eighth of an inch across, shaped much like flax-seed, and 
overlap each other like shingles. They are gummed 
securely to the twig. They hatch in the spring. 

Remedy. — Gather the broods of eggs on the twigs at 
the annual pruning; or capture and destroy the mother 
before she deposits her eggs. They are often found on 
grapevines, both eggs and insects. 

19. The Oblong-winged Katy-did {Phylloptera 
ohiongifolia, De Geer) is so similar in habits of feed- 
ing and laying its eggs as not to need any separate 
description. 

20. The Leaf-Crumpler {Pliycis incUgenella, Zeller). 
— The common name of this insect is a very apv)ropriate 



INSECT ENEMIES. 



129 



one. Ill its larval stato it draws a few leaves together, 
within which it iH-epares a place of abode, and in which 
it winters when about one-third grown. With opening 
spring it resumes activity, niid leaves its case in searcli 
of food, and continues to grow till the early part of June, 
when it shuts itself up in its case, and becomes a reddish 
brown chrysalis about four-tenths of an inch long. As 
a larva it was a third longer. As a perfect moth it 
comes out in about two weeks, with wings expanded to 
seven-tenths of an inch. The body of the larva is a dull 




Fig. 114. — c, Head of Larva, ma^ified ; 
d, Size of the Motli. 

THE LEAF-CRUMPLER. 



Fiff. 115. 



greenish brown, with a horny plate on the top of the first 
segment, and a flattened dark prominence on each side, 
below the plate. Each of the other segments is marked by 
a number of dark dots, each giving rise to a single brown 
hair. The head is a dark reddish brown. Tliere is only 
one brood a year, from eggs laid in July. There is a 
striking contrast between the markings of their two 
pairs of wings. The fore wings are pale brown, with 
patches and streaks of silvery white. TJie hind wings 
are plain brownish white. The under side of both pairs 



130 QUIN'CE CULTURE. 

is paler. Besides the quince, it feeds on the apple, cherry, 
plum, and sometimes the peach leaves. 

Remedies. — Gather and destroy the cases in which 
they hibernate. A small Ichneumon fly is a parasite on 
it; and the two-winged Tachina fly (Tachina phycilce^ 
Le Baron), which closely resembles the common house 
fly, also preys on it. 

ATTACKING THE BUDS. 

21. The Tarnished Plant-Bug (Lygceus Iweola- 
ris, P. Beau v.). — This injurious insect is about onC' 
^ fifth of an inch long. The males 

are generally darker than the females, 
the colors in both varying from a 
dark brown to a greenish yellow 
brown. The head is yellowish, with 
three narrow reddish stripes. The 
beak is about one-third the length 
of the body, and is folded under it 
when not in use to puncture the 
buds, and suck out their juices. 
Fig. ll6.-TARNisnED rpj^gg^ puucturcs sccm to poison both 
PLANT-BUG (£'nZar^fl<?). ^, . \ ^ , * , i 

the buds and young leaves. A whole 
branch is sometimes seen to wither and die from their 
injuries. The thorax has a yellow margin, with several 
yellowish lines running lengthwise. Behind the thorax 
is a yellow V-like mark, rather indistinct. The legs are 
yellow and the wings dusky brown. When handled they 
emit a disagreeable odor. Tliey do their mischief in 
about three weeks. Tlicy hiy their eggs on tlie leaves. 
The young bugs are wingless, and of a green color. 
Otherwise ihQj resemble their parents. They are in- 
jurious to the quince, pear, apple, plum, cherry, etc. 

Femedies.^Thej are sluggish, early in the morning, 
and may then bo shaken off and destroyed. 




INSECT ENEMIES. 131 

ATTACKING THE FLOWERS. 

22. The Pear-tree Blister Beetle {Pomphopoea 
(Bniay Say). This beetle is a little over half an inch 
long, with head and thorax punctated, and a little 
hairy. The roughened wing cases are marked with 
two slightly elevated lines. The color is a greenisli 
blue. They eat the entire flower except the stamens. 
They sometimes eat the tender leaves at the end of the 
limbs. Besides the quince, they eat the blossoms of 
the plum, cherry, etc. 

The remedy is to jar them down early in the morning, 
and destroy them before the sun warms them to activity. 

23. A Beetle just about the size of the asparagus beetle, 





Fig:. 117. Fig. 118. 

PEAK-TREE BLISTER BEETLE. CHRTSOMELIANS. 

but with yellow-striped wing-covers like the cucumber 
beetle, is a Chrysomelian that sometimes riddles the petals 
of the quince. It eats the buds before the petals have ex- 
panded. They feed singly or in groups, and when dis- 
turbed, hastily fly away. I first found them on the 
quince in the spring of 1887. 

attacking the fruit. 

24. The Curculio {Conotraclielus Crafmgi, Walsh). 
— This beetle is an indigenous insect. Its home is 
tlie wild haw, from which it has come to be very 
injurious to the quince. It is a little larger than the 
plum curcuho. The color is ash-gray, mottled with 
ochre-yellow. It has a dusky, almost triangular spot at 



132 QUIi^-CE CULTURE. 

the base of the thorax above. The wing-covers have 
seven narrow longitudinal elevations, with two rows of 
dots between them. Its piercer is folded under the 
thorax when not in use. It feeds on the quince both in 
the larva and imago, burying itself entirely in the fruit. 
Occasionally it attacks the pear. 

In May the beetles come from the chrysalids, pair, and 
commence laying their eggs in June. In piercing the 
fruit they make a cylindrical liolo 
a little larger than the egg, and 
enlarged at the base. In this 
the egg is laid, and hatches in 
a few days. The larva burrows 
through the growing fruit near 
the surface, seldom penetrating to 
Fig. 119.-QDINCE cuRcuLio thc corc. At maturity it leaves 
(Greatly Enlarged). tlic fruit through a Cylindrical 

opening, after which it buries itself in the earth two 
or three inches deep, and remains unchanged till the 
following May, when it pupates and becomes a beetle. 
Remedies. — Jarring the beetles off the trees on sheets 
and killing them, if thoroughly done, will prove effective. 
Gathering and destroying the fruit that falls, or that 
which does not fall if it has been stung, will be helpful in 
destroying them. 

There are several caterpillars besides those named that 
prey on the leaves of the quince, which we have nob yet 
been able to name with certainty. One is a large and 
nearly black caterpillar ; and another is small, and mot- 
tled like some of the span worms. 




ADDITIONAL INSECT EKEMIFS. 133 

CHAPTER XX. 

ADDITIONAL INSECT ENEMIES. 

Since the first edition of this work was published sev- 
eral additional insect enemies of the quince have been 
discovered, or recognized as being more or less injurious 
to either the fruit or plant ; consequently, I have 
thought best to give a brief description of these, with 
notes upon their habits, and remedies whenever known. 

ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 

Xylotrechus colonus. — A small, slender, longhorn 
beetle, somewhat less than one inch long, and of a light 
brown color, and large dark patches on the back and 
wing-covers. Has been found boring in the twigs and 
larger branches of the quince, but mainly in those that 
are diseased and dying. This insect usually attacks 
diseased trees of various kinds ; consequently it cannot 
be considered as especially injurious to the quince. The 
most practical way of destroying this pest is to cut off 
and burn all diseased twigs and branches as soon as their 
condition is observed. 

attacking trunk and branches. 

The Cryptophasa unipunctata, Hon., is a very pretty 
species of Lepidoptera. Years ago it was observed in 
the Black AYattle, Acacia decurrens, but now is destruc- 
tive to all trees of the Rosacew, and includes the plum, 
apricot, peach, cherry and nectarine. 

The full-grown larvae are about one and one-third 
inches long; the truncated head tapers in front, with 
ample mouth-parts for burrowing. The body is in 
twelve segments, of a dull, pale chocolate brown, except 
the second, which is pitchy black. The spiracles and 



134 



QUINCE CULTUKK. 



thoracic feet are paler. Along the back, placed trans- 
versely, there is a series of double ovate shining spots, 
which vary in intensity in different individuals. A few 
short hairs are on all the segments, and most numerous 
about the head and anal extremity. The caterpillars 
burrow at right angles to the heartwood, and thence 
downward twelve to sixteen inches, concealing the 
entrance to their burrows by caps made of fragments of 



V-^r^^—zr 




Fig. 120.— CRYPTOPHASA UNIPUNCTATA. 

a. Larva; 5, Lateral view of enlarged segments; c. Pupa; d. Anal seg- 
ment or cremaster; e, Adult— all natural size except b and rf, which 
are enlarged. 

wood and bark, cemented together so as to resemble a 
portion of the natural bark. When disturbed in their 
burrows they move rapidly up or down, and are loath 
to leave them. They pupate in their burrows near the 
bark, and the emerging moth, having softened the cover 
to the entrance, comes out early in the evening and 
attaches itself to the branches, ready to meet its mate. 
The moth is exceedingly delicate and easily killed. Its 



ADDITIONAL INSECT ENEMIES. 135 

fine silvery scales rub off easily from its body, which is 
ail inch long. The white fore wings spread two and a 
half inches. The darker hind wings spread a little over 
two inches. The antennae are pectinated, and about 
half an inch long. Very destructive in Australia. 

Remedy. — They are said to be attracted by light in 
the evening, and when caught may be easily killed. 

The Fruit-bark Beetle {Scolytus rugxdosus, Eatz.). 
■ — Fig. 121 is a very small but destructive beetle, that 
attacks the plum, pear, peach, apple and quince. Weak 
and sickly or injured trees are, or have been supposed to 
be, its choice ; but vigorous, 
healthy trees are destroyed by this 
pest. It attacks the branches 
and twigs as well as the trunk. 
The beetles are very minute, dark 
brown, cylindrical in their gen- 
eral form, with wing-covers hav- 
ing small punctures between the 
grooves. The thorax is also 
punctured. The head is verti- 
cal, with short, strong jaws, and 
anteuna3 short and strongly scolytu^kuJulosus. 
clubbed. It is about one-tenth(^«/«»'yerf ticentxj tUaviettrs.) 
of an inch long, and one-third as wide. The white 
larva has a small brown head, and is transversely wrin- 
kled, footless, and is as long as the beetle it produces. 
The adult comes out in May, and fresh burrows are 
formed as late as October. ''The female perforates 
the bark, and, after pairing in the anterior part of her 
nearly vertical breeding chamber, burrows longitudinal^, 
laying eggs to the right and left as she progresses. The 
larva3 eat laterally outward, forming nearly straight 
channels, furrowing the sapwood more or less, unless 
the bark be thick, and forming finally a pupal chamber 
in the wood," from which the matured beetles escape 




136 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



through the numerous holes seen in the bark, each sim- 
ilar to that by which their mother hrst entered. Fig. 

122 shows perfora- 
tions of bark, and 

Fig. 123 a breeding 

chamber under the 

bark, both natural 

size. 

Remedies. — If in a 

vigorous tree, flowing 

sap may drown the 

larvae, hence their 

supposed preference 

for weakened trees, 

and the need of good 

culture and care. 

Trees very badly in- 
fested should be 
burned in the winter, when all the insects are in them 
in the larval state. They have a number of parasitic 





Fig. 122. 



Fig. 123. 




Fig. 124.— PARASITE OF LAllVA (CJiiropochys colon). 

enemies, one of which {Chiropachys colon, enlarged eight 
diameters), is shown in Fig. 124, and tiiey are also the 



Ar/DITIOiq-AL INSECT ENEMIES. 137 

prey of birds that pick off the perforated bark and 

eat both larva? and beetles. Washes, both poisonons 

and offensive, are sometimes applied to the bark as a 
protection. 

ATTACKIN-G THE LEAVES. 

The Kose Beetle ok Eose Chafer, Macrodactylus 
suhspinosus, Fabr., is so named from its fondness for 
roses, and its annual appearance is with the blooming of 
the damask rose. The beetle (Fig. 125) is about seven- 
twentieths of an inch long, with very long legs, pale red, 
and tipped with black feet. The body is covered with a 
short ash-colored down. It suddenly appears about the 
time when grapevines bloom, and is active 
from thirty to forty days, swarming upon 
its choice of plants, which vary somewhat in 
different years. Partial to flowers, it also 
feeds on leaves of a wide variety of trees, and 
clioice fruits. The female beetle deposits fij?. 125. 
about thirty eggs an inch or two below the^^sE beetle. 
surface of the earth ; these hatch in about twenty days. 
The larva is a white grub, which feeds on roots till 
autumn, when it goes below frost, returning in the 
spring to pupate in May near the surface of the ground, 
thus completing its life circle in a year. 

Remedies. — Prof. Riley found E later idm larvae de- 
stroyed the rose beetle larvge. They are not affected by 
the arsenical poisons used for other pests, but yield to 
carbolic acid, one gallon to one hundred gallons of 
water, sprayed on plants they eat ; and to scalding 
water and kerosene. Dusting with air-slaked lime, 
or spraying with lime water, a peck to the barrel, is 
also recommended. 

Tent Caterpillar (CUsiocampa Americana, Har.). 
— The moth is an inch and a half across the wings, 
which are ashy brown or a pale brick color, marked by 
two light lines obliquely across the fore wings. Their 




138 QUINCE CULTURE. 

general color is a reddish-yellow brown intermingled 
with gray. The female is larger and ligliter colored, 
with antennae more slightly pectinated than the male. 
They fly at night in June and July, and lay their eggs 
on small twigs. TheiF first choice is the wild cherry, 
and next the apple, but they feed on the peach, quince, 
plum, and quite a number of other trees. 

The full-grown larvae are about two inches long. As 
they grow they enlarge the tent, and moult four times. 
At maturity they scatter, and often go a long distance 
before spinning the cocoon, in which they pupate in 
from seventeen to twenty days. 

Remedies. — Tachina flies and ichneumons are their 
parasites. The Baltimore oriole and the cuckoo eat them 
by piercing the tent, leaving their empty skins. A 
spray of any arsenical poison on the foliage will be 
effective. The eggs are easily seen by looking over the 
infested trees any time after the leaves fall, and are 
often in easy reach. Early in the morning and late in 
the day most of the caterpillars are in the tent, and then 
can be easily destroyed. 

The Tingis {Corythuca arcuatd). — A small bug with 
the thorax and wings spread out leaf-like ; the fore-legs 
are simple, and the beak reaches to the end of the breast. 
It sucks the Juice of the leaves of the quince and other 
kinds of trees, sometimes occurring in sufficient numbers 
to check their growth. **It winters in the adult stage, 
hiding wherever it can find a chance, and makes its ap- 
pearance in spring quite late, and in small numbers. It 
lays its eggs upon the leaves in clusters, and from these 
hatch the wingless bugs, which feed in company until 
well grown. Late in summer they reach their full 
growth, scatter about, and finally hibernate." 

Remedy. — Spray with kerosene emulsion ; in autumn 
burn accumulated leaves and rubbish that furnish win- 
ter quarters. 



ADDITIONAL INSECT ENEMIES. 



139 



Gipsy Moth {Or.neria dispai\ Linn.). — This is a 
European insect, introduced by L, Trouvelot of Massa- 
chusetts about 1870, for the purpose of experimenting 
in cross-breeding with silk worms. The experiment 
was a failure. The insects escaped from him, and their 
progeny has become Avidely distributed in Massachusetts, 
but as yet not elsewhere. 
It is destructive to almost 
eyery kind of tree and shrub. 

The male moth (Fig. 126) 
measures about an inch and 
seven-eighths from tip to 
tip across the fore wings, 
which are dark yellow- Fig. i26.-male gipsy moth. 
brown, with black wavy lines across them. The hind 
wings are an inch and a quarter across, and marked 
with dark lines radiating out from the body, and divid- 
ing as they spread. The outer edge of all the wings is 
dotted with a row of black spots. The antennse are 
broadly pectinated. The female moth (Fig. 127) meas- 





Fig. 127. FEMALE GIPSY MOTH. 



nres two and three-fourths inches across the wings, and 
is marked much like the male on a very light ground. 
The hind wings are two and one-eighth inches across, 
very light, and otherwise like the male. The antenna 
are thread-like, curving towards each other at their tips. 



140 



QUIiq^CE CULTURE. 



A full-grown caterpillar of this moth is shown in Fig. 

128, and a pupa in Fig. 129. 

Eemedies of various kinds have been tried and are 

still in use, but the most effectual thus far has been the 
gathering of the lai-vae and co- 
coons by hand, although spraying 
with poison solutions, and espe- 
cially one made with arsenate of 
lead, has proved to be of consid- 
erable value. 

The larva of an insect resem- 
bling that of the corn-ear worm 
(Heliothis armigera)^ which pu- 
pates in the ground, did great 
damage to the leaves of quince 
and apple trees in June and July, 





Fig. 128. Fig. 129. 

1891, on the grounds of H. S. Buck of Coeur d' Alene 
City, Idaho. This insect has not, as yet, been identified 
by entomologists. 

IKSECTS GENERALLY DESTRUCTIVE. 

San" Jose Scale [Aspidiotus perniciosus, Comstock). 
— This species of bark louse received its common name 



ADDITIONAL INSECT ENEMIES. 



UL 




from San Jose, California, where it was first discovered 
in this country, and its specific scientific name is fully 
deserved because it is 
one of the most per- 
nicious pests of fruit 
trees generally that 
has appeared in the 
present century. It 
was first seen in Cal- 
ifornia about 1870, 
and since that time 
became widely distrib- 
uted on nursery 
stock, also on fruits 
and on the bodies of 
larger insects, birds. Fig. i30, limb infested with scale. 
and by various other means. It infests the bark, twigs, 

leaves and fruit of the quince 
and other trees. At first the 
young are inconsjoicuous, but 
they rapidly increase in size 
and numbers, till the bark is 
incrusted with scales, present- 
ing a grayish appearance as if 

/_^ MK x:^? ^1 the trees were coated with 

»\-^ (A .^^1:^^.1 lime, or ashes. In spring tlio 
young appear crawling from 
under the scales, and through 
the summer there is a constant 
succession of generations. The 
young are active and spread 
rapidly, until each female be- 
comes fixed and begins to se- 
crete a scale, and when full 
grown casts off her legs and antennge, and there receives 
the visits of the male, an active two-winged insect. It 




Fig. 131. UNDEKSIDE OF A 
YOUNG LAHVA. 



142 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



differs from the oyster-shell hark louse hy heing nearly 
round, or slightly elongated and irregular. It is flat, 

and when fully grown 
ahoub one-eighth of 
an inch across. The 
middle of each scale is 
marked with a black 
or yellowish point 
„ slightly elongated. 
^ When crushed a yel- 
lowish, oily liquid ap- 
pears on the bark, 
often changed to a 
purplish color. Young 
scales are darker than 
when older and larger, 
and look black, while 
those still younger are yellowish. A section of pear 
stem is shown in Fig. 130, covered with the San Jose 




Fig. 132. 



ADULT FEMALE CONTAINING 
YOUNG. 




Fig. 133. ADULT MALE INSECT. 



ADDITIOIi^AL INSECT ENEMIES. 143 

scale, natural size, while at Fig. 131 the underside 
of a young larva, and at Fig. 132 an adult female, 
both of the latter greatly enlarged, also a winged male 
at Fig. 133. 

Remedies, — Badly infested trees should be burned. 
Insecticide washes and sprays may be used on trees les3 
infested. Spraying with kerosene-and-soap emulsion is 
highly recommended. Trees thoroughly washed in 
winter with a saturated solution of potash, and in sum- 
mer drenched with kerosene emnlsion, will be well pro- 
tected from all sorts of scale insects. Its natural ene- 
mies are the ApJielinics fuscipennis, a very minute, 
yellowish parasitic wasp, a foe to all scale insects. Two 
species* of lady-birds also feed on this scale. The 
'^Twice-stabbed" lady-bird, CMlocorus livulnerus, a 
black, hemispherical beetle an eighth of an inch long, 
with a red spot in the middle of each wing-cover. The 
other is Pentilia misella, a minute black insect, scarcely 
as large as the scale it devours. 

ATTACKING THE FRUIT BUDS. 

A very small scarabeid beetle, the Valgus canalicii- 
latuSy spends its larval stage in rotten wood. It is 
numerous enough some years to do considerable damage, 
eating out the fruit buds when they are small. A spray 
of arsenical poisons is all that is needed to destroy them. 

ATTACKING BOTH BUDS AND LEAVES. 

The Eye-Spotted Bud Moth {Tmetocera ocellana) 
is closely allied to the codlin moth, which it resembles 
in size and form. Its generic name is from the Greek 
word, signifying cut-horned, the base of the antenna? of 
the male having a notched appearance. The specific 
name is ocellana, from the Latin for eye-like, because of 
the eye-like appearance of a spot on each f)-ont wing. 
It was common in Europe over a century ago, and is 
now widclv distributed in America. It has borne differ- 



144 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



ent names and classifications in the past, but all are 
s3riionomous with that here given. Dr. Harris called it 
the eye-spotted Penthina, and said : ''It is difficult at 
first to conceive how such insignificant creatures cau 
occasion so much mischief as they are found to do. 
This seems to arise from the number of the insects and 





Fig. 134. BUD MOTH, TWICE 
NATURAL SIZE. 



Fig. 135. LARVA, THREE TIMES 
NATURAL SIZE. 



their mode of attack, whereby the opening foliage is 
checked in its growth or nipped in the bud." The fore 
wings expand about three-fifths of an inch, with leaf- 
like venation (Fig. 134). The head, thorax, and both 
the inner and outer parts of the fore wings are dark 
ashen gray ; their middle portion is cream white, 
streaked with gray. The under- 
side is darker, with light costal 
streaks on the outer part. There 
aie streaks of lead-blue in their 
markings. The hind wings are 
ashy gray. In June and July the 
moth lays her eggs upon the leaves, 
where they hatch and feed under 
Fig. 136. Fig. 137. the protection of silken tubes which 
they spin, drawing the edges of the leaves about them. 
When about half grown, the larva, having moulted three 
times, leaves its tube and leaf to seek a place for hiber- 
nation in a silken cell which it makes in any angular 
roughness of the bark near a bud. If the bark has no 
angular ]ilace the larva cuts one to fit it, weaves its 
silken covering, disguised by particles of bark and dirt. 
Now it is about a quarter of an inch long. With the 




ADDITIONAL INSECT ENEMIES. 145 

opening spring the little brown larvae leave their winter 
quarters, resuming their destructive work, first in the 
buds, and later upon the leaves. They are full grown in 
June and July and then about half an inch long (Fig. 
135), aud pupate ten days in a silken tube or cocoon 
among the leaves they have killed. Fig. 136 presents a 
ventral view, and Fig. 137 a dorsal view of a pupa, 
twice natural size. When the moths emerge they keep 
very quiet through the day with their wings folded roof- 
like over the body, looking like the bark of the tree. 
At night they pair, and lay their eggs singly or in clus- 
ters of two to seven. The larval period extends over a 
part of two years, but they are single brooded. 

Remedies. — In Europe five species of parasites, and in 
the United States three others, prey upon this pesf. 
Besides these, the large mudwasp, Odynerus Catskillen' 
sis, paralyzes this and other like larvae, and puts them 
in cells of mud as food for its own young in its larval 
stage. Birds also destroy them. Hand-picking has 
been tried, but is impracticable on a large scale. But 
for the protection of their webs we could destroy them 
with kerosene emulsion. Paris green at the rate of a 
pound to one hundred and fifty gallons of water may be 
combined with Bordeaux mixture as a fungicide, and 
accomplish a double protection. This treatment will be 
most effective if applied when buds and leaves are ex- 
panding, as then it eats part of a bud or leaf in one 
place, or the side of a flower in another, so as to do the 
most damage. Dr. Riley recommended burning fallen 
leaves in autumn, and this is advisable in all orchards 
and gardens for the destruction of hibernating insects 
and many fungous diseases. 

ATTACKING THE FRUIT. 

The Apple Worm or Codlin Moth {Carpocapsa 
pomonella, Linn.), was brought to America about 1800, 



146 QUINCE CULTURE. 

and has spread widely. It adds the quince and pear to 
its bill of fare. It is double-brooded, and very injurious. 
The moth lays her eggs singly on the blossom end of 
the fruit, where it hatches in a few days, and burrows 
for the core, feeding as it goes. In three or four weeks 
it is full grown, and crawls out of the fruit to seek a 
place to spin its cocoon and pupate, coming out with 
wings in ten to fifteen days later. The second broods 
do not issue as motlis till the next spring. 

Remedies. — Spraying the trees with any of the arsen- 
ical poisons when the fruit is small, is most relied on to 
destroy the larvae before they get into it. Those that 
escape and mature in fallen fruit are trapped with bands 
placed around the trees. Where there are plenty of 
apples, other fruits are little sought; but in western 
Kew York, where quinces are largely grown, the codlin 
moth is a very serious enemy. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
SOME FUNGI INJURIOUS TO THE QUINCE. 

BY DR. BYRON D. HALSTED. 

In this chapter the reader's attention is called to a 
group of enemies of the quince that consist of minute 
plants. Fungi are usually so small that they can only 
be seen with the microscope, and consist of fine threads 
which run into the substance of the quince stem, leaf 
or fruit, and rob it of its vital juices. The spores they 
produce are minute bodies, capable of growing into new 
fungi when conditions are favorable. Spores serve the 
same purpose for fungi that seeds do for higher plants. 

The orchardist's attention is called to those kinds of 
fungi that have proved to be the most destructive to 
quinces, leaving out of sight a large number that occur 



FUNGI INJURIOUS TO THE QUINCE. 147 

infrequently, as a rule, and without serious results. It 
might be said in passing, that the quince, including its 
foliage, branches and roots, lias no less than ninety-six 
kinds of fungi upon it. Some of these that prey to a 
disastrous extent upon the fruits are also found upon 
the leaves, causing them to blight and fall away. This 
is a matter of considerable importance when the question 
of remedies is taken up later. 

The fungi treated in the following pages are arranged 
somewhat in the order of their appearance in the orchard, 
and not as to their ultimate injurious effects. Many of 
the engravings are from photographs of the specimens, 
and, of course, all color and something of the other 
characteristics are necessarily lost. However, it is hoped 
the reader may be able, by their aid, to fully understand 
the text, and obtain through both an insight into the 
nature of these troubles. 

The Quince Rust (Ecestelia aurantiaca, Pk.). — The 
first fungus to make its appearance upon the quince 
fruit in early summer is the rust. While the fruit is 
quite small the fine threads of the rust plant grow 
through it, and in one or more places the green color is 
replaced by orange, the quince at the same time usually 
becoming distorted. In the orange patches small pim- 
ples appear, which continue to enlarge, and from them 
short horns project and soon become ruptured at the 
top. Within these horns or tubes the bright orange 
spores are borne in great abundance and readily fall out. 
Four young quinces thus ruined by the Roestelia are 
shown in Fig. 138, and the horns or spore-bearing tubes 
may be seen projecting from the surface of the young 
fruits. As time passes, the affected fruit, failing to 
grow or enlarging but slowly, becomes hard by drying, 
and either falls to the ground or remains upon the trees 
as a worthless and unsightly product until the close of 
the season. 



148 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



This rust of the quince is a form of fungus that lives 
during a part of its development on the two kinds of 
juniper, namely : the red cedar and the low juniper, and 
is recognized upon the stems by the swollen nodules and 
the reddish color. 

To repeat, the fungus known as Gymnosporangium. 
clavipes, C. & P., one of the kinds of cedar galls, is a 




Fig. 138. YOUNG QUINCES AFFECTED WITH RUST, 

form of the rust {Rmstelia aurantiaca, Pk.) that attacks 
and injures the quinces. This rust stage also grows 
upon apples, hawthorns, and the Juneberry, or shad 
bush, as it is sometimes called. It is often quite abun- 



FUN"GI INJURIOUS TO THE QUIN'CE. 149 

dant upon the hawthorn fruit, but it is only wlien upon 
the quince that it becomes of special interest to the 
fruit-growers. 

It is important to know that the rust grows on the ju- 
niper in one of its forms. If the spores from the juniper 
galls were prevented from going to the quince, the trouble 
in the orchard would soon be at an end. Again, if it 
were only between the junipers and the quinces the case 
would be simpler ; but as it is, there are the Juneberry 
and the hawthorns which serve as breeders of the trouble- 
some parasite in the hedgerow and wood lot. 

The rusts (and there are hundreds of kinds upon as 
many different species of plants) are not subdued by 
sjoraying with fungicides ; at least, this defensive art has 
not been successfully practiced with them. They are 
deep-seated, gross-feeding fungi, and have done the 
larger part of their harmful work before their presence 
is manifest. Properly timed, there is but little doubt 
that spraying would check germination of the spores as 
they come from the cedar galls, borne by the early spring 
breezes. But knowing that the quince rust is associated 
with the galls of the cedars, the best thing to do is to 
destroy these trees and shrubs in the vicinity of the 
orchard. The largest kind of cedar galls are associated 
with a rust of the apple. 

The Quince Frutt Spot {Entomosporium macula- 
turn, Lev.). — When the quinces approach their normal 
size, small brown spots appear, which soon enlarge, be- 
come confluent and turn to almost a black color. The 
decay is quite superficial and the ripe fruit thus spotted 
may be used, but the size is not what it would other- 
wise have been, and the price of the unsightly fruit is 
much reduced thereby. 

This spotting is due to a fungus that, upon the pear, 
has been known for a long time as the one causing the 
cracking of the fruit, and on account of the peculiar 



150 



QUIN^CE CULTURE. 



shape of the spores, shown in Fig. 139, has received the 
generic name of Entomosporiiim, or spore resembling an 
insect, while the last part of the botanical name, macu- 
latum, means spot. In other words, the name when 
freely translated is as descriptive of the fungus as it well 
could be. The destruction which this fungus does to 
the quinces is second only to the ravages it works in the 
pear orchard, some varieties of the latter fruit failing 
unless saved, as they can be, by spraying. If it were 




Fig. 139. SPORES OF QUINCE-SPOT FUNGUS. 

confined to the fruit the damage miglit be less, but both 
quince and pear leaves suffer heavily. They become 
spotted and early fall away, leaving the branches bare, 
with their spotted and stunted fruit in full sight. It 
goes without further remark that the tree must hold its 
leaves green throughout the season to do the best work, 
and the fruit is dependent upon the foliage for its sus- 
tenance ; therefore, anything that defoliates is injurious 
to the fruit, even if the latter in itself is not subject to 
attack from the same enemy. A view of a badly spotted 



FUNGI INJURIOUS TO THE QUINCE. 151 

fruit of the quince is shown in Fig. 140. If, for exam- 
ple, worthless or neglected pear trees are standing near 
quince trees that are troubled with the spot, it may 
be that the former are the source of infection for the 
latter, and should be removed. The rule works in the 
opposite direction as well, and a hedgerow of starved 




Fig. 140 BADLY SPOTTED QUINCE. 

quince trees may be a menace to the choice sorts of pears 
growing near by. 

Bad as the fruit spot may be, it can be controlled, in 
great measure, by thorough spraying, thanks to the pro- 
longed tests of fungicides in this direction at several 
experiment stations. 

The Black Rot of the Quince {SpJiceropsis ma- 
lorum, Peck). — A common, and therefore destructive, 
decay of the quince appears upon the fruit when it is 



153 



QUIN^CE CULTURE. 



less than half grown. Almost in^ranably the first signs 
of the rot are to be found at the blossom end of the 
quince, and from there it rapidly extends throughout 
the whole fruit. At first the skin, losing its normal 
green color, turns to a light brown, and shortly after 
this the dark pimples appear, scattered in the tissue 
close beneath the skin, which is ruptured when the 
spores are matured. The ripe spores are olive brown, 
about twice as long as broad, and form long, slender 
coils as they are pushed out of the small hole in the 
skin. They germinate quickly in water, and therefore 

render it easy to inocu- 
late healthy fruit with 
the fungus. An infest- 
ed quince of small size 
is shown in Fig. 141. 

Some years ago the 
writer made a study of 
the spliceropsis of the 
apple and pear along 
with that of the quince, 
and as the spores are 
the same in size, the 
coloration alike in all, 
and inoculations easy 
from one kind of fruit to another, it is safe to conclude 
that the three are all the same. 

A field observation in this connection bears directly 
upon the results above stated, and has a practical value 
that the orchardist will quickly appreciate. A large 
apple tree stands in an orchard surrounded on three 
sides by quince trees. The fruit, not of the best, is per- 
mitted to drop and accumulate upon the ground in mid- 
summer, it being an early autumn sort. These fallen 
apples in 1890 were badly infested with the spliceropsis, 
as also frequently the fruit upon the tree. It was a 




Fig. 141. QUINCE AFFECTED WITH 
BLACK ROT. 



FUNGI INJURIOUS TO THE QUINCE. 153 

noticeable fact that the quince trees that were close to 
this tree, some of them almost under it, were the most 
severely attacked. While there was no actual transfer 
of the infection by artificial means to demonstrate the 
fact, the writer is quite willing to hold the opinion that 
the quince fruit received the germs of the decay from 
the apples that were rotting by the half bushel only a 
few feet away. That the decay should begin at the 
blossom end is not unexpected, for there the spores, and 
the water causing them to germinate, would naturally 
lodge. The growing filaments of the spores would there 
find an easier entrance than elsewhere, because of the 
adhering floral parts. Near by, and with branches inter- 
locking, stands a pear tree, and the fruit was quite badly 
infested with the sphcBrojJsis. Similar trees further 
away from the apple tree were less troubled with the 
decay, which only strengthens the opinion that all three 
kinds of fruit are naturally susceptible to the same 
infection, and the germs pass from one to the other 
through the air, or by means of the various insects that 
visit the fruits, especially those with broken surfaces, 
due to partial decay. The inoculations that were made 
in the laboratory seem confirmed by observations in the 
orchard. If the assumption holds, and it appears to be 
a sound one, it follows that the apple tree is a source of 
spJimropsis infection for the quince and the pear. The 
apple bears comparatively worthless fruit, and the 
quinces are the most valuable of all in this instance. 
There are several courses to pursue, the best of which 
cannot be foretold. If spraying is to be employed, it 
should be upon all three kinds of trees — apple, pear and 
quince. If the axe is to be used, it should be laid at 
the root of the apple tree. But if the apple tree is to 
be saved, the fruit fallen from it should be removed and 
destroyed. This, with faithful spraying, to be treated 
of later, should save both the pears and the quinces. 



154 QUINCE CULTURE. 

The Quince Pale Rot {Plioma Cydonia, Sacc.).(?) — 
Next to the black rot the most prevalent decay of the 
quince is the one that may be well called the pale rot. 
This is a more rapidly growing fungus than the sphce- 
ropsis, and may ran through a large quince in a few 
days. It begins at any place upon the fruit, producing 
at first a pale spot, from which tlie skin may easily be 
removed. The threads of the fungus soften the flesh of 




Fig. 142. PALE ROT OF QUINCES. 

the quince more tlian those of the black rot, and the 
skin soon wrinkles, and at the same time is ruptured in 
many places, from which short tufts of threads develop. 
These small spots, usually circular in outline, are at 
first colorless, but soon turn to a handsome sliade of 
pale blue. A fruit with these numerous spots, or broad- 
faced pimples, is shown in Fig. 142, As the days pass, 
there is a spore cavity formed below the surface of each 
spot, and from this the spores finally issue in a thread 



FUNGI INJURIOUS TO THE QUINCE. 155 

of slime through the ruptured center of the spot. 

There has been a fungus found m Europe upon the 
quince, which, from its description, may be the one 
here under consideration. It was not met with upon 
the stems associated with the rot in question, and as 
access is not easy to the European specimens, the name 
for the stem form is here given tentatively. If it is 
upon tlie foliage in this country, it may follow that it 
passes from the leaves to the fruit, and this view of the 




Fig. 143. QUINCE AFFECTED WITH IMPE ROT. 

subject suggests that leaf treatment might be as advan- 
tageous for the pale rot as for the fruit spot and the 
black rot. In treating for one the remedy would be 
applied for all. This is an encouraging fact connected 
with spraying for these fungous enemies. 

The Ripe Eot of Quinces {Glceosporium fructi- 
genum, Berk.). — There is a decay of apples which is 
quite destructive, causing brown depressions in the fruit, 
that become dotted over with pimples, producing multi- 
tudes of pinkish spores. It has been known as the Bit- 



156 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



ter Rot, because of the disagreeable taste of the infected 
parts. Since it has been proved that the same fungus 
causes a decay of maturing grapes without the accom- 
panying bitterness, the name of Ripe Rot has been ap- 
plied to the fungus upon both kinds of fruit. That the 
same species thrive upon the quince is shown by the 
fact that the microscopic structure and measurement of 
parts are the same, and the decay can be produced in its 
normal form by inoculating the healthy quince with 
spores that are taken from the grape or apple ripe rot. 




Fig. 144. KIPE KOT OF QUINCE, FKOM APPLE. 



A quince, with one side badly infested with the rot, is 
shown in Fig. 143. The quince being still green, there 
is little contrast between healthy and diseased portions ; 
but the latter is evident from the shrunken condition, 
as well as the numerous spore-bearing pimples to be 
seen. A specimen of ripe quince fruit showing the same 
trouble, but produced by inoculation from the apple, is 



FUNGI liTJUmOUS TO THE QUINCE. 157 

seen in Fig. 144. This decay is controlled by the fun- 
gicides to be later considered. 

The Quince Blotch.— The most obscure trouble of 
the quince that has been studied is what may be called 
the Quince Blotch. There is no decay, in the ordinary 
sense, connected with it, but the fruit when only partly 
grown becomes blotched with black. This retards the 
growth of the immediate portion of the fruit, and soon 
the quince shows irregular depressions corresponding 
with the areas covered by the dark development. 

A fungus is constantly associated with this blotching, 
and by isolation it was found to grow upon a colorless 
jelly called agar, and produce spots that correspond in 
outline with those upon the quince. The pure virus of 
the blotch, removed from the culture tubes and intro- 
duced into holes and cuts in healthy fruit, will produce 
the first indications of the blotching, but in a few days 
some other germs find entrance and the experiment 
must close. 

OTHER DECAYS OF QUINCES. 

The fungi that have been briefly described do not 
include all that produce a decay and destruction of the 
fruit, especially after it has been gathered from the 
trees. The most rapid decay of all is due to the pres- 
ence of the black mould that causes the Soft Rot of the 
sweet potatoes, namely, RUzopus nigricans, Ehrb. 
This mould does not seem able to attack the quince di- 
rectly, but gets a foothold through any bruised, cut or 
otherwise mutilated surface of the fruit. Some other 
fungus, which in itself is neither deep-seated nor, there- 
fore, serious, may prepare the way for the mould, and 
thereby be of much indirect damage. Fruit, for exam- 
ple, that may have only a few small patches of the ento- 
mos^joritim, or quince spot, is sometimes ruined by the 
rliizoims starting at the affected place and running 



158 QUINCE CULTURE. 

quickly throughout the whole fruit, when the quince 
almost melts down and becomes black with the profusion 
of spores upon the surface. 

The gray mould {Monilia fructigena, Pers.) is 
another enemy similar in habit to the black mould. 
This fungus is one of the most serious to plums and 
cherries, causing their decay in a few hours. While 
quinces are not exempt, they, like the apples and pears, 




Fig. 145. QUINCE SHOWY WITH DECAYS. 

may be attacked if the fruit is packed while wet and 
left without ventilation. 

There is a black rot, strictly so-called, which is occa- 
sionally met with in quinces. The fruit becomes almost 
the color of coal. There is a fungus associated with 
this, a member of a genus not usually accused of para- 
sitic habits. It is a Pestalozzia, and does not seem to 
be recorded for this fruit. It has not been cultivated, 
and may prove to be the same as is found upon other 



FUNGI INJURIOUS TO THE QUINCE. 159 

similar substances. In Fig. 145 is shown a quince with 
striking forms of decay. 

In this connection one cannot dismiss, without a word, 
tlie thought that when fruits are nearing maturity they 
are approaching also that condition when vitality is at a 
low ebb, the seeds within the flesh being the only por- 
tions abounding with life. It therefore follows that 
fruits may be subject to both fungi that prey upon liv- 
ing tissue and those which are satisfied with the non- 
living organic substances. 

The importance of keeping the natural barrier against 
this latter class, in all its strength, cannot be easily over- 
estimated ; in other words, the skin, if preserved un- 
broken, will shut out the larger portion of the fruit 
enemies of a fungous nature. Fungi that work upon 
the skill and go no deeper may be among the most de- 
structive kinds, because they provide an easy entrance 
for forms of moulds that otherwise would be excluded. 

TREATMENT. 

In view of the fact that the quince fruit is subject to 
many enemies, some making a vigorous attack, as the 
rust in early summer, and others, as the fruit spot and 
the black rot, soon arriving, while later on several spe- 
cies make havoc, it follows that any treatment, to be 
most effective in preventing the destruction, must begin 
early in the season. 

The two compounds that merit full commendation 
here for their effectiveness in checking the ravages of 
fungi in the orchard are the Bordeaux mixture and 
cupram (ammoniacal solution of copper carbonate). 
The following are the formulae for preparing these 
fungicides : 

(1) The Bordeaux mixture — 

Sulpliale of copper, 6 pounds 

QuickUme, 4 pounds 

Water, 22 gallons 



160 QUINCE CULTUBE. 

Dissolve the copper sulphate in one gallon of hot 
water, and in another vessel slake the lime with a gallon 
of water ; add tlie milk of lime slowly to the copper solu- 
tion, stirring constantly, and strain through a sieve or 
coarse gunn}^ sack ; finally, add twenty gallons of water, 
and the mixture is ready to be applied with a spraying 
pump. 

Good results are obtained witli a mixture of half the 
above strength, which consists in doubling the water, or 
correspondingly diminishing the copper and lime. In 
like manner a one- third strength is often recommended, 
especially for the last sprayings. 

(2) Oupram (tlie ammoniacal solution of copper car- 
bonate) consists of — 

Carbonate of copper, 5 ounces 

Ammonia water (strength 4 F.), 3 quarts 

Water, 50 gaUons 

Wet up the copper carbonate in a quart of water, add 
it to the ammonia, and when completely dissolved dilute 
with water, as needed. 

It is well to use the Bordeaux (1) for the first half of 
the season, beginning as soon as the leaf buds open, and 
spraying the trees at least once each week. During the 
second half of the season, continuing until September, 
the cupram (2) may be used. 

There are so many destructive fungi common to all 
fruit trees, that it is wise to spray all trees of the orchard, 
whether apple, pear or quince. If fruit falls badly it 
should be gathered and destroyed. Let no rot get a 
foothold anywhere. 

For the preparation of this chapter the author has 
drawn largely upon a bulletin* he published a few years 
ago. Some of the cuts have been reproduced here. 



*" Some Fungous Diseases of the Quince Fruit," BuUetiu No. 91, New 
Jersey Experiment Station. 



VARIETIES OF RECENT INTRODUCTION. IGl 

CHAPTER XXII. 
VARIETIES OF RECENT INTRODUCTION. 

BouRGEAT is a late importation from France, of 
thrifty growth, and thick, glossy leaves of a deep green. 
The fruit is pyriform, of good size, smooth, a bright 
yellow, of excellent quality, and keeps well. 

Variations of the Japanese Quince. — The flowers 
of seedlings exhibit a variety of colors and shadings, 
from blood red to almost white. There is also a varia- 
tion in the shape of leaves and fruit. By years of care- 
ful selection in the propagation, Wm. Parry has secured 
fruit of large size, of a greenish yellow, with a handsome 
blush, the surface ribbed like a citron, and covered with 
small white dots. He has named it " Columbia." 

Luther Burbank of California, has produced, among 
his ^^new creations in trees, fruits and flowers," a dwarf 
tree from seed of an improved Japanese quince, which 
"is the shape of the Belleflower apple, but larger than 
the largest, and as smooth and as fine shaped as could 
be desired." We will name it for him the " Belleflower." 

Johnson, produced by W. B. K. Johnson of Allen- 
town, Pa., is a large, round quince, compressed at the 
stem, with a moderately angular surface, downy in the 
depressions. The color is greenish-yellow, marked with 
small dots. The flesh is yellowish, comparatively ten- 
der, with a mild aroma ; quality good ; ripens ten days 
later than the Orange, which it very closely resembles. 

Santa Rosa is a very large, fine-flavored quince, 
highly colored and strongly flavored. It cooks very 
tender, and can be eaten raw like an apple. The tree is 
somewhat straggling, but a strong grower. The fruit is 
smooth, and free from fuzziness. Mr. Burbank has 
named it in honor of the place of its origin. 



162 QUINCE CULTURE. 

Van Deman, so named in honor of Prof. H. E. Van 
Deman, the former Pomologist of the Department of Ag- 
riculture, who says, *' This variety is one of the very best, 
in every respect, I have ever examined, and the tree is 
reported as exceedingly thrifty and productive." Mr. 
Burbank writes me that *'in California it often bears 
three distinct crops, about a month apart, and some- 
times four ; the last of the fourth is generally taken by 
frost." The fruit is large, oval truncate, greenish- 
yellow, flesh yellow, mild sub-acid, and of excellent 
quality. 

Quince 'No. 80 is a seedling of Rea's Mammoth. 
The tree is like it in growth and productiveness. The 
fruit is a deep orange color, and the flesh lemon-yellow. 
It is nearly round, over thirteen inches in circumference 
either way, with the stem inserted in a cup half an inch 
deep, the basin of the calyx over an inch deep, and 
about two inches wide. 

California is a seedling of Rea's Mammoth. The 
trees grow upright, and fruit quite young. The fruit 
is pale lemon-yellow, tender, and of high flavor, free 
from fuzz. 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 



163 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ASH OF THE QUINCE. 



Dear Sir : 

After a long delay I am able to send you a complete 
analysis of the ash of the quince fruits and wood which 
you sent for examination. I fear that the chemical 
analysis does not indicate very clearly anything of value 
in regard to the nature of the diseases to which the 
quince trees and fruits are subjected. 

QUINCE FRUIT. 



SPH^ROPSIS CYDONIA ROT. 



CONSTITUENTS 
DETERMINED. 


A 


B 


Mean. 


CO2+C 
FREE. 


co,+c+ 

»i 0, 
FREE. 


Silicic Oxide, 


*14.87 


*14.87 


*14.87 


20.32 




Pliosphoric Oxide, 


4.40 


4.46 


4.43 


6.05 


7.59 


Ferric Oxide, 


0.42 


0.42 


0.42 


0.57 


0.72 


Aliimiiiic Oxide, 


0.12 


0.12 


0.12 


0.16 


0.21 


Calcic Oxide, 


4.58 


4.58 


4.58 


6.26 


7.85 


Ma^nesic Oxide, 


5.10 


5.13 


5.11 


6.99 


8.77 


Potassic Oxide, 


t41.02 


t41.02 


t41.02 


56.06 


70.36 


Sodic Oxide, 


tl.94 


tl.94 


tl.94 


2.65 


3.32 


Sulplmric Oxide, 
Carbonic Oxide, 


0..53 


0.85 


0.69 


0.94 


1.18 


25.20 


24.90 


25.05 






Carbon (unburn t) 


*2.30 


*2.30 


*2.30 






Siilpliur(siilpliide), 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


Clilorin, 


" 


" 


" 


" 


" 


Total, 


100.48 


100.57 


100.52 


100.00 


100.00 



*One analysis; tmeaii of 3 analyses. 

PARTIALLY DECAYED (natural). 



Constituents 


A 


B 


Mean. 


COj+C 


CO,+C-f 
SiOj 
Free. 


Determined. 


Free. 


Si O2 


*9.19 


*9.19 


*9.19 


11.72 




1*205 


9.59 


9.59 


9.59 


12.23 


13.86 


Fcj 6, 


0.42 


0.63 


0.52 


0.66 


0.75 


Al'o, 


0.08 


0.11 


0.10 


0.12 


0.14 


Ca'o' 


5.&4 


5.50 


5.52 


7.03 


7.97 


Mg 


5.90 


5.80 


5.86 


7.47 


8.47 


K, 


t45.14 


t45.14 


t45.14 


57.60 


65.23 


NaoO 


tl.64 


tl.64 


tl.64 


2.09 


2.37 


SO", 


0.91 


0.79 


0.85 


1.08 


1.22 


CO, 


$18.71 


+18.71 


+18.71 






c 


*2.79 


*2.79 


*2.79 






s 

Cl 


trace 


trace 

" 


trace 


trace 


trace 


Total, 


99.92 


99.89 


99.90 


100.00 


100.00 



One analysis ; t mean of 3 analyses ; t mean of 4 analyses. 



164 



QUIIfCE CULTURE. 



TWIGS OF THE QUI:N^CE TREE. 

HEALTHY. 



Constituents 
Detekmined. 


A 


B 


Mean. 


C(),+C 
Fkee. 


CO^+C-h 

feiOj 

FlJEE. 


Silicic Oxide, 


*2.49 


*2.49 


*2.49 


3.72 




rijosphoric Oxide, 


3.54 


3.64 


3.59 


5.36 


5.57 


Ferric Oxide, 


0.15 


0.15 


0.15 


0.22 


0.23 


Alumiiiic Oxide, 


0.13 


0.09 


0.11 


0.16 


0.17 


Calcic Oxide, 


37.06 


37.08 


37.07 


55.38 


57.51 


Magiiesic Oxide, 


4.10 


4.10 


4.10 


6.12 


6.36 


Potassic Oxide, 


tl7.27 


tl7.27 


tl7.27 


25.80 


26.79 


Sodic Oxide, 


tl.69 


tl.69 


tl.69 


2.52 


2.62 


Sulphuric Oxide, 


0.68 


0.29 


0.49 


0.72 


0.75 


Carbonic Oxide, 


$31.63 


+31.63 


$31.63 






Carbon (iinbnrnt), 


*1.19 


*1.19 


*1.19 






Sulphur (sulphide), 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


Chloriu, 


" 


" 


" 


" 


" 


Total, 


99.93 


99.62 


99.77 


100.00 


100.00 



*Oiie analysis ; t mean of 4 analyses ; t mean of 3 analyses. 



KILLED BY FUNGUS RCESTELIE AURANTIACA. 



Constituents 


j^ 


B 


Mean 


CO2+C 


C()2+C4- 

Si O2 
Free. 


Determined. 








Free. 


Si o„ 


*3.76 


*3.76 


*3.76 


4.89 




1*2 *^5 


6.90 


7.04 


6.97 


9.06 


9.53 


FejOg 


0.15 


0.15 


0.15 


0.19 


.21 


AI2O3 


0.35 


0.29 


0.32 


0.42 


.44 


Ca'o 


13.00 


13.00 


13.00 


16.91 


17.77 


MgO 


6.15 


6.01 


6.07 


7.89 


8.30 


K, 


t42.43 


t42.43 


t42.43 


55.18 


58.01 


SO3 


t3.63 


t3.63 


t3.63 


4.72 


4.96 


0.49 


0.65 


0.57 


0.74 


0.78 


CO2 


21.00 


20.84 


20.92 






C 


*1.77 


*1.77 


*1.77 






s 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


CI 


" 


" 


" 


" 


" 


Total, 


99.63 


99.56 


09.59 


100.00 


100.00 



* One analysis ; t mean of 4 analyses. 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 



165 



BOOTS OF THE QUINCE TREE. 

HEALTHY. 



Constituents 


A 


B 




COj+C 


C02+C+ 

Si O2 


DETERMINED. 








FKEE. 


FKEE. 


Si O, 


*7.93 


*7.93 


*7.93 


10.76 




P, Ob 


1.67 


1.61 


1.64 


2.22 


2.49 


Fe, 6, 


0.84 


0.84 


0.84 


1.14 


1.28 


ALO;* 


0.38 


0.48 


0.43 


0.58 


0.66 


C\ao' 


36.18 


36.36 


36.27 


49.20 


55.13 


MgO 


3.05 


3.11 


3.08 


4.18 


4.68 


K^O 


tl9.83 


tl9.83 


tl9.83 


26.89 


30.13 


Na2 


tl.70 


tl.70 


tl.70 


2.31 


2.58 


SO3 


2.09 


1.92 


2.00 


2.72 


3.05 


co; 


25.25 


25.17 


25.21 






c 


*0.57 


*0.57 


*0.57 






s 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


Cl 




" 


" 


" 


" 


Total, 


99.49 


99.52 


99.51 


100.00 


100.00 



* One analysis ; t mean of 4 analyses. 



KILLED BY BORERS. 



Constituents 


A 


B 




CO2+C 


C()2+C+ 

Si 0, 


DETERMINED. 








FKEE. 


Free. 


Si O2 


*10.52 


*16.52 


*16.52 


20.46 




r„ O5 


2.28 


2.27 


2.28 


2.82 


3.55 


Ftj O3 


0.78 


1.10 


0.94 


1.16 


1.46 


Al'Os 


1.18 


1.00 


1.09 


1.35 


1.70 


Ca'O 


41.38 


41.38 


41.38 


51.24 


64.43 


MgO 


3.89 


3.97 


3.93 


4.87 


6.12 


K2O 


11.47 


11.46 


11.46 


14.20 


17.84 


Naa 


1.76 


1.76 


1.76 


2.18 


2.74 


SO3 


1.45 


l.M 


1.39 


1.72 


2.16 


CO2 


tl8.30 


tl8.30 


tl8.30 






C 


*0.63 


*0.63 


*0.63 






s 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


Cl 


" 


*' 


" 


" 


" 


Total. 


99.63 


99.73 


99.68 


100.00 


100.00 



*One analysis J tmean of 3 analyses. 



166 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



WOOD OF THE QUINCE TREE. 

KILLED BY BORERS. 



CONSTITUENTS 


A 


B 




CO,+C 


^'^fr!;+ 


DETERMINED. 








FREE. 


Free. 


Si O2 


6.24 


6.34 


6.29 


9.06 




P2O. 


2.92 


2.78 


2.85 


4.10 


4.51 


0.78 


0.78 


0.78 


1.12 


1.23 


AI2O3 


0.50 


0.50 


0.50 


0.72 


0.79 


Ca'o 


41.74 


41.66 


41.70 


60.05 


66.03 


MgO 


4.92 


4.85 


4.88 


7.03 


7.73 


K2O 


10.49 


10.42 


10.45 


15.05 


16.56 


Na,0 
SO3 


1.75 


1.75 


1.75 


2.52 


2.77 


0.24 


0.24 


0.24 


0.35 


0.38 


CO2 


*30.38 


*30.38 


*30.38 






c 


0.44 


0.47 


0.46 






s 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


CI 


" 


" 








Total, 


100.40 


100.17 


100.28 


100.00 


100.00 



Mean of 4 analyses. 



KILLED BY BLIGHT. 



Constituents 


A 


B 




CO2+C 


. C0j+C4- 

SiO^ 
Free. 


DETERMINED. 








FREE. 


SiO, 


*3.80 


*3.80 


*3.80 


4.86 




?e.% 


4.31 


4.30 


4.31 


5.51 


5.80 


0.42 


0.42 


0.42 


0.54 


66 


A1203 


0.14 


0.08 


0.11 


0.14 


0.15 


Ca 


45.18 


45.18 


45.18 


57.81 


60.77 


MgO 


4.67 


4.63 


4.65 


5.95 


6.25 


KjO 


tl8.20 


tl8.20 


tl8.20 


23.29 


24.48 


Na^O 


tO.27 


tO.27 


tO.27 


0.35 


0.36 


SO3 


1.32 


1.11 


1.21 


1.55 


1.63 


CO, 


21.35 


21.43 


21.39 






c 


*0.40 


*0.40 


*0.40 






s 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


trace 


CI 


" 


" 


(< 


" 


" 


Total, 


100.06 


99.82 


99.94 


100.00 


100.00 



*One analysis; t mean of 3 analyses. 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 1G7 

They were all made in duplicate, except when indicated 
otherwise, and the results of each duplicate analysis are 
entered under columns A and B of each subhead. Fol- 
lowing this is a column headed *'Mean,'' showing the 
mean content of each particular substance as indicated 
by the single or duplicate analyses. For the purpose of 
more direct comparison the component parts of the sev- 
eral samples have been calculated to material free of 
carbonic acid and unburned carbon, and these results 
are given under the column marked CO2+O free. 
Since, in the case of the root, it was almost impossible 
to exclude the sand, which was present as an impurity, 
the data have also been calculated to substance free of 
silica and carbonic acid and unburned carbon. These 
data are contained in the column marked COa-l-C-l-SiOa 
free. This explanation will enable you to understand 
suflBiciently well the tabulation of the results. 

As you will notice by the table, comparisons are made 
directly between the same parts, as nearly as possible. 
For instance, the quince fruit affected by rot is com- 
pared directly with the quince fruit of a healthy nature, 
although partially decayed from natural causes. In the 
same way the ash of the roots of the healthy tree is com- 
pared with the ash of the roots of the tree killed by 
borers, and in a like manner the ash of the twigs of the 
healthy tree is compared directly with the ash of the 
tv/igs of the tree killed by the fungus. The ash of the 
tree killed by borers is compared also directly with the 
ash of the tree killed by blight. The above, I hope, will 
be a sufficient description of the tables to enable you to 
understand them thoroughly. 

In regard to the lessons which these per cents teach, 
a few conclusions may be drawn from a study of the 
analytical results. The diseased quince fruit is decid- 
edly richer in silica than that of the healthy fruit, while, 
on the other hand, the healthy fruit contains a large 



168 QUINCE CULTURE. 

excess of phosphoric acid over tliat of the diseased fruit. 
The healthy fruit also contains a decidedly smaller por- 
tion of potassium. All comparisons of lime, potash and 
phosphoric acid which follow, are based on ash free of 
silica, carbonic acid and unburned carbon. 

The conclusions derived from these data are : that the 
rot prevents the fruit of the quince from absorbing its 
normal portion of phosphoric acid and tends to increase 
the potassium, and indicates that a liberal fertilization 
with phosphoric acid might stimulate the tree in some 
way to withstand the ravages of the rot. 

In respect of the roots of the healthy and diseased 
trees, it is interesting to note that the healthy trees con- 
tain far less silica in the roots than those of the trees 
killed by the borers ; the proportion being less than one- 
half. This may be explained by the fact that the soil 
may work its way into the holes made by the borers. 
The roots of the healthy trees also contain very much 
larger quantities of potassium than those of the injured 
trees ; while, on the other hand, the proportion of phos- 
phoric acid present in the ash of the healthy roots is 
decidedly less than that in the ash of the injured roots. 
The injured roots also have a larger quantity of lime. 

In regard to the twigs, there is a most striking differ- 
ence between the ash of the healthy twigs and of the 
twigs killed by the fungus. This difference is found in 
the practical exchange of the per cents of potash and 
lime. In the healthy twigs the lime is in large excess 
over the potash, while in the diseased twigs the potash 
is in very large excess over the lime. This is a most 
remarkable fact and shows the effect which the disease 
has upon the normal absorbing power of the twigs 
themselves. 

In regard to the ash of the wood from the trees killed 
by borers and blight, it is found that the potash in the 
wood killed by blight is in excess of the same constitu- 



CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 169 

eiit in the wood killed by borers, while the reverse is 
true of the lime. In general, it seems that a diseased 
tree tends to accumulate in its ash a larger percentage 
of potash, both in the wood and fruit, than would be 
normally present in a healthy tree ; in the roots, how- 
ever, the reverse appears to be true. There may be 
some exceptions to this rule, but the tendency is as 
indicated. 

Hoping that this information may prove of some use 
to you, I am, Eespectfully, 

H. W. WILEY, Chemist 
U. S. Department of Agriculture. 
To Key. W. W. Meech, Vineland, N. J. 



170 QUIN^CE CULTURE. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
BIRDS— TOADS— RABBITS— MICE. 

Birds. — Much might be said of the value of poultry 
in the orchard to destroy insect enemies. Insectivorous 
birds are also valuable allies for the horticulturist ; but 
in merit our domestic fowls outrank them all. It is ad- 
vantageous to raise fruit and fowls together. It will be 
to the advantage of both if the fowls are in number pro- 
portionate to their field of operation. 

Poultry are supposed to omit from their bill of fare 
some of our insect friends, and it is probable the birds do 
likewise ; but all insects are devoured by the toad, which 
will clear your room of cockroaches over night, just as 
he will your gardens of the vilest of your insect foes. I 
find a movable fence, in sections that can be put to- 
gether whenever it is wanted, a very convenient thing 
for poultry. It may be made of lath nailed on scantling. 
Others are using netting of wire cloth, and find it satis- 
factory. It is to be hoped that the laws protecting in- 
sectivorous birds will be generally respected, and that 
our song birds will be left to multiply in our orchards 
and gardens. The English sparrow is an enemy to be 
destroyed, for doing more harm than good. 

Rodents. — There are two rodents that deserve notice 
as enemies of the quince, apple, and pear. 

1. The Hare or Gray Rabbit {Lepus sylvaticus), 
— The hare, or rabbit, as it is commonly called, injures 
young trees by cutting off the tops and by gnawing the 
bark from those too large to eat off. This is often a very 
serious damage in both the nursery and the orchard. 
They multiply rapidly, and sometimes become formidable. 

Remedies. — They are easily caught in traps and snares. 
They may also be poisoned by strychnine, a small portion 
being placed on pieces of carrot, of which they are very 



BIRDS — TOADS — RABBITS — MICE. 



171 



fond. The bark may be protected by smearing it with 
blood, or rubbing it with liver, or smearing it with 
tobacco water, or lime water, with enough copperas 
added to turn it green. A little cheap glue will make 
the wash stick to the bark. Thick paper around a tree 
will keep them from gnawing the bark. Charles Down- 
ing recommends a paint made of a handful of flowers of 
sulphur, half a spadeful of soot, a spadeful of fresh cow 
dung, with a spadeful of hot slacked lime, applied on a 
dry day. He says English gardeners set up swabs dipped 
in melted sulphur among the trees in their nurseries. 
2. Meadow Mice {Mus aTOco^^j?).— Meadow mice are 




Fig. 147. 
SAVING GIRDLED TREES. 



Fig. 148. 



known by yarious names in different parts of the country, 
such as short-tailed field mice, ground mice, etc., and 
are sometimes called moles, although they are very dif- 
ferent from them. They are covered with long gray 
hair, have very thick heads, and very short tails. They 
all burrow in the ground. The greatest damage done by 
meadow mice is gnawing off the bark of fruit trees. 
They do this most when the ground is covered with 
snow. Like the rabbit, they multiply rapidly. Their 
hiding places may be found in brush heaps, under stacks 
of grain and hay, and similar places. 

Remedies.— Burn the brush heaps. Set the rails up on 
end so as not to make a shelter for the mice, and keep 



172 QUINCE CULTURE. 

cats or a dog to hunt them. Hawks catch them by day 
and owls by night. Skunks, foxes, etc., also help to 
lessen their numbers. But, after all, they will multiply 
rapidly if grass and weeds are left in the orchard. The 
rabbit remedies will also answer for mice. 

Girdled trees may sometimes be saved, if the injury is 
discovered before the wounds get dry, by banking the 
tree with moist earth. A more certain way is by insert- 
ing a row of cions around the girdled place, either by 
halving them and inserting the ends under the bark 
above and below, or by using strips of bark for the same 
purpose. The edges of the bark should be cut smooth 
and even to insure success. In either case they should 
be well protected by grafting wax. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
MEDICINAL AND ECONOMIC USES OF THE QUINCE. 

Every part of the quince is useful. Its scarcity and 
consequent high price have kept it in the good house- 
keeper's list of luxuries. But when its cultivation be- 
comes more general, it will come within the reach of all, 
and be in still greater demand. 

In the first century of the Christian era the old Eoman 
Columella said: '' Quinces not only yield pleasure, but 
health." A modern writer of note says : ^' Medicinally, 
the quince is cooling and strengthening. The juice 
is good against nausea. The ripe fruit eaten raw is 
said to be good for spitting of blood ; also for swollen 
spleen, dropsy, and difficult breathing." 

" The quince in the Materia Medica," according to 
Lewis and Woodville, ^^is astringent and stomachic. 
The juice in nausea is to be given in doses of a spoonful 
or two; so in vomitings, inodorous eructations, and some 
kinds of alvine fluxes. In the London Pharmacy this juice 



USES OF THE QUINCE. 173 

was formerly ordered to be made into a syrup called Syriip- 
us Cydonareun. or syrup of quinces ; and was prepared 
by digesting three pints of the depurated juice with a 
drachm of cinnamon, half a drachm of ginger, with half 
a drachm of cloves, on warm ashes for six hours, and then 
adding a pint of red port and dissolving in the strained 
liquor nine pounds of sugar. But the only preparation 
of the quince it noAV directs is a mucilage of the seeds, 
made by boiling a drachm of these in eight ounces of 
water till it acquires a proper consistence. This has 
been recommended in apthons affections and excoriations 
of the mouth and fauces. It may be more pleasant, but 
less efficacious than that of the simple quince." In 1831 
Henry Phillips reported the cure of a severe case of 
asthma at Horsham, in Sussex, England, by using quince 
wine. 

1. QuiKCE Wine is made of equal parts of quince juice 
and water, with three and a quarter pounds of sugar to 
the gallon, added before it is fermented. The seeds are 
taken out before the fruit is crushed or grated. If the 
water is omitted, the medicinal value will be greatly 
increased. 

2. Quince Syrup, made by boiling the richness out of 
the fruit, and dissolving, in the water used, sugar enough 
to give it a good heavy body, will be found delicious for 
the soda fountain. Without the soda it is a pleasant 
summer drink in water. 

3. Quince Water, made by pouring hot water over the 
dried fruit, and letting it steep awliile, is a good substi- 
tute for tamarind water. It is most acceptable to in- 
valids desiring a cooling acid drink. 

4. Bandoline is made by covering the seeds with forty 
to fifty times their bulk of warm water, which soon pro- 
duces a mucilage used by perfumers and hair dressars. 
Many ladies prepare it for themselves to keep their hair 
in place. It can be perfumed with any kind of odor. 



174 QUINCE CULTURE. 

By the addition of a little alcohol it can be kept for a 
long time. It is this use of the seeds which causes the 
great demand with druggists. 

5. Quince Preserves are made by first cooking the 
fruit soft, and then adding as many pounds of pure sugar 
as there were pounds of the raw fruit, and simply scalding 
it through thoroughly. The importance of not adding the 
sugar to acid fruits till after they are cooked soft has not 
been sufficiently understood. It is estimated to require 
double the sugar if it is put into the fruit at first ; be- 
cause the conversion of the cane sugar into glucose or 
grape sugar lessens its sweetening power very greatly; 
some say more than one-half. 

The receipts in the cook books give directions for a 
long and tedious process to do what is so short and 
simple by this method. To prevent mould on jars of 
preserves or jellies, they should be kept in a cool place 
and covered closely from the air. A thin paper covering, 
wet with alcohol or lard, and gently pressed on the sweet- 
meat, is a safeguard ; or cover with a thin film of lard 
without the paper. Melted paraffine jDoured over the 
confections serves the same purpose, and is very easily 
removed when they are used. 

6. Quince Marmalade is made by cooking the fruit 
soft, crushing to a pulp, and adding sugar to taste. Boil 
slowly, stirring constantly to prevent sticking or burning. 
When it falls oil a spoon like jelly, it is done, and can be 
molded in cups and covered the same as jelly. One- 
third sweet apples maybe added without more sugar, and 
still the flavor will be sufficient to suit many tastes, 

7. Quince Butter is made much like the marmalade, 
except the addition of sugar. This is a favorite fruit 
confection in the Philadelphia market. 

8. Quince Compote. — Pare a dozen quinces, cut them 
in halves, and take out the cores. Put in a preserving 
vessel enough clear syrup to cover them, and add the 



USES OF THE QUINCE. 175 

juice of two lemons. Heat the syrup, and add the 
quinces, boiling well together. Drain the fruit, and pack 
it in a compotier. Leave the syrup to thicken a little, 
and pour it over the quince. 

9. Quince Sauce is made by simply stewing the fruit 
soft, then mashing and adding sugar to taste. The ad- 
dition of one half apples or pears will greatly increase 
the quantity and yet leave a good quince Havor. 

10. Quinces Canned, or bottled as sauce, are as suc- 
cessfully put ujD as any other fruit for similar use, only 
remember to cook soft before adding the sugar, as, be- 
sides the sweetening, there will be a toughening of the 
fruit. I canned a large quantity in glass jars (the Light- 
ning can preferred), first packing them full of the raw 
fruit, then filling with water, and boiling till soft in a 
common wash boiler on my cook stove. The safety of 
the jars was secured by a very thin skeleton frame of 
wood on the bottom of the boiler. After the fruit was 
soft, the jars were lifted out, and the water poured off, 
and half a pound of dissolved granulated sugar added for 
each quart jar. This made a rich, heavy syrup, which 
was returned to the fruit in the jar. Eeplacing the jars 
in the boiler, they were soon boiling again, when tliey 
were ready to seal. Lastly, they were inverted, and left 
so till cooled. By this last process it was easy to discover 
if the jar and sealing were perfect; if not, bubbles of air 
would press in and show at once on the surface. 

11. Baked Quinces are a favorite with some. Wash 
and core, then fill with sugar, and bake in a dish or pan con- 
taining a little water, to eat hot or cold with cream and 
sugar. Or, having cut in halves, without paring or cor- 
ing, boil till nearly tender, and then, covered with sugar, 
bake in a hot oven, basting often with the syrup made 
by the sugar and water in which they were boiled. When 
done put a lump of butter on each half. Turn the syrap 
over them, and serve as before. 



176 qui:n^oe culture. 

12. Sweet Pickles. — Prepare as for preserves. Cook 
tender in water, drain well, and simmer for five minutes 
in a syrup of good vinegar, covering the fruit, and add 
sugar, one and a half pounds to a pound of quinces, with 
spices of cinnamon, allspice, mace, and cloves to suit one's 
taste. The water in which they were boiled can be used 
to make jelly. A pint of vinegar to seven pounds of fruit 
is a good proportion for sweet pickles to keep well. 

13. Quince Jelly, when well made, is unsurpassed. 
Most housekeepers use the parings and cores of such as 
have been used for some other confection. It is better to 
leave out the cores, as the mucilage around the seeds may 
make the syrup ropy, and hinder success. The skin, 
with what adheres, contains the part of fruit richest in 
pectine, and so is best for jelly. Indifferent fruit should 
be cooked with the skins for jelly. Apples may be used 
to increase the quantity of jelly without seriously reduc- 
ing the flavor. Cook the apples, and then the quinces 
in the same water. The color of all jellies may be kept 
light by shortening the time of boiling ; and this may be 
done by dividing the fruit into three or four parts, cook- 
ing them successively in the same water. By the time 
the last is cooked, and the pulp pressed and syrup strained, 
the sugar can be added ; by measure rather than weight, 
bulk for bulk. When the sugar is added to the syrup a 
scum will rise, and should be removed. No more skimming 
is necessary till it is done, when another skimming will 
leave it entirely clear. The exact jellying point in the 
process must be determined by trial as the boiling pi-o- 
ceeds. Longer ioiling may reduce it to a syrup again. 
As soon as the jelly is done, let the heat subside a little, 
and pour into cups to mold it for use ; and in a few 
minutes after, run a spoon around the top of the cups 
to gather the film, when each will be perfectly smooth 
and glassy. Preserve from mould as above described for 
preserves. 



INDEX. 



Page 

Adjiistable marker 45 

Age ol quince trees 60 

Agrotidce 1"2 

J gratis clandestina 104 

Cochranii 103 

saucia 102 

acandens 104 

Aid from otliers 10 

Aim ot autlior in writing 12 

Allorhina nitida 89 

Analysis, cliemieal 163 

Anger's quince 21 

Ants, black 127 

red 105 

Aphelinus viali 101 

Apliides 109, 124, 127 

Apliis laniqera 100 

lions... 127 

mali 124 

malifolice 125 

sch izoneura 100 

woolly 100 

Apple-tree apliis 125 

tree borer, round-headed.. 97, 98 

or Orange quince 22 

Arctians 109 

Ash of the quince 163 

Ashes 18,86 

AspidAotus Cydonim 100 

Attacus polyphemus 119 

Average yield of Meech's Pro- 
lific quince 81 

B;icl eria 82, 85 

Bag-worm 110 

Jiaked quinces 175 

]{;indoline 173 

Bark-ijound ••• 94 

liasket for shipping 79 

l'>asket-worm 110 

Beetle! 106 

Birds, value of 170 

Bending down branches 75 

Bh'eding from pruning 74 

Jilennocampa 116 

Blight, description 83 

Leaf 93 

Preventive 95 

Recovery 85 

S|)read 84 

Blossoms 75, 76 

Wliich will bear? 77 

Bordeaux mixture 159 

1 



Page 

Borer, apple-tree 97 

Round-headed 97 

Remedies 99 

When to look for 98 

Budding 62 

Buds, flower 69 

Latent 17 

Leaf 69 

Threefold 18 

Butter, quince 174 

(Jalosoma calidum 106 

scrutator 106 

Caterpillar of handmaid moth. 106 
Yellow-necked apple-tree . . lOG 

Cellular tissue 18 

Chalcidfly 101 

Champion quince 24 

Chemical analysis 163 

Chinese quince 22 

Chrysomeiians... 131 

Cicada septendecim 101 

Conotrachelus Cratcegi 131 

Compote of quince 174 

Corn emperor moth 112 

Col ton tuft 124 

Crate 80 

Crops, average yield, value, etc 81 

( 'ryptus inquisitor 112 

Cu'ltivation 42, 43 

Cupram 160 

Curculio 131 

Cuttings, length and how to 

plant 62 

Cutting back 50 

Cut-worms, climbing 102, IO4 

Dark-sided IO3 

Mamestra picta IO4 

Variegated IO2 

W-marked lO-t 

Remedies for IO5 

Ci/rtophyttiis concavus I27 

Datana ministra lOe 

De Kourgeat quince 25 

Decay, occasion of 73 

Digging the tree 47. 48 

Diseases 82-92 

Bacteria 82 

Baik-bouud 04 

Blight 83-86 

Fungi 82 

Leaf blight 03 

Leaf mildew 92 

77 



178 



QUIJ^CE CULTURE. 



Page 

Diseases— Orange rust 86-90 

Quince leal brownness 90 

Quince rot 93 

Yellow leaf spots 91 

Drainaj^e 42 

Dropping of fruit; why? 72 

Drop- worm 110 

Encyrtus 1 19 

Equalizing the growtii 71 

Erlosoma 100 

Evaporation from soil 42, 43 

Excess of wood 72 

Fall web- worm 108-110 

Fertilizers, artificial 36-40 

Liquid manure 70 

Lime 70 

Salt 37 

Flowers 19 

Fontenay quince 25 

Fruit 80 

Keeping 80 

Miiriceting 80 

Thinning 70, 78 

Wax-like covering of 86, 94 

Fruitful branches, which are?. 72 

Fuller quince 25 

Fungi injurious 82. 146 

Black roc 151 

Blolch 157 

Entomosporiuin maculatum. . . 149 

Fruit spot 149 

Glaeosporliim fructigenum 155 

Gray m )Id 158 

Gi/innosporanpiitni clavipes... 148 

Moiillia fractigeaa 158 

Pale rot, 154 

Pest ilozzia 158 

Phoma Cydonice 154 

Ripe rot 155 

Rklzopits nigricans 157 

Rjestelid adrantiaca 147 

R'lst, quince 147 

Soft rot 157 

Spfioeropsis malorum 151 

Gathering fruit Um early 80 

and marketing 79, 81 

Girdled trees saved 172 

Good pruning illustrated 72 

Grafting, cleft 60 

Crown 61 

for early fruitf ulness 75 

Sadille 61 

Side 61 

Splice or whii) 61 

Time of 60 

Gray rabbit 170 

Grain or grass, do not plant in. 51 

Hare, the 170 

Healing wounds 73, 74 

Heeling in, sloping and erect.. 51 

Hendersonia Cydonia 91 

Ilp.initeles thyridopteryx 112 

Hide-bound 94 

History of qnincre 13-16 

Hi/phantria textor 108, 109 

Hypercluria lo 112 



Page 

Hyperchiria varia 112 

Iclineiinions 105, 106 

Insect enemies 97, 131, 133 

Aphides (for var. st-e 

aphides) 101, 124, 127 

Apple-ti-ee boi'er, round- 
headed 97, 98 

Apple worm 145 

Aspid Lotus pei'niciosus 140 

liag, basket or drop-worm.. 110 

Carpocapsa pomo7iella 145 

Caterpillar of handmaid 

moth 108 

Chiropachys colon 136 

Chrysonieiians 131 

Clisiocampa Americana 137 

Codlinmoth 145 

Corn emperor moth 112 

Corythiica arcuata 138 

Cotton tuft 124 

Cryptophasa unipunctata 133 

Curcuiio 131 

Cut-worms 102-105 

Eye-spotted bud moth 143 

Fall web-worm 108-110 

Fruit bark beetle 135 

Gipsy moth 139 

Katydid 127, 128 

Leaf crumpler 128 

Locust 101 

Macrodactylus subspinosus . . . 137 

Ocneria dlspar 139 

Pear-tree blister beetle 131 

Penthina 144 

Polyphemus moth 119-123 

Quince scale 100 

Rose beetle 137 

San Jose scale 140 

Scolytus rugulosus 135 

Slug 116 

Spined soldier-bug 110 

Tarnished plant-bug 130 

Tent caterpillar 137 

Tingis 138 

Tmetocera orellana 143 

Valgus canaliculatus 143 

Vapored mol h 115 

White-marked tussock 

moth 115, 116 

Xylotrechtis colonus. 133 

Insect friends 106, 130 

Allorhina nitida 89 

Aphelinus fuscipennis 143 

Apliis-lions 127 

Calosoma scrutator 1 06 

Calosoma calidum 1 06 

Chalcid fly 101 

Chilocorus bivulnerus 143 

Cryptus inquisitor 112 

Dung beetle 89 

Encyrtus 119 

Ilermiteles thyridopteryx 112 

Ichneumons 105, 106, 112 

Lace- winged flies 127 

Lidy-bujis 127, 143 

Long-tailed ophion 115 



INDEX. 



179 



Page 
Insect frienf\s—Odynerus Cats- 
kill ensis 1 45 

Pentilia misella 143 

Red ants 105 

Syrphus flies 127 

Tachina flies 106, 108 

Tachina phycitoe 130 

Japanese quince 27, 161 

Jelly, quince 176 

Katydid, broad-winged 127 

Oblong-winged 128 

Keeping a record 54 

Keeping fruit 80 

Knowledge necessary to suc- 
cess 9 

Lace-winged flies 127 

Lady-birds 127 

Lagoa crispata 124 

Largest quince t ree on record . . 50 

Layering 56, 57 

Laying out tlie orchard 45, 47 

Leaf blight 93 

Grumpier 128 

Mildew 92 

Leaves 18 

Lenticelles 17, 29 

Lepus syh^aticus 133 

Life force 19 

Lime 70, 86 

Lindley's law for leaf and 

flower-buds 69 

Liquid manure 70 

Locating board 47 

Locust, seventeen-year 101 

Long-tailed ophion 115 

LygcBus lineolaris 130 

JMarnestra jyicta 104 

Manual needed 9 

Manuring 36-40 

Common sources of 39 

Ciieraical 40 

Necessity of 36 

Marketing 80 

Marmalade 174 

Meadow m ice 171 

Medical uses of the quince 172 

Meech's Prolific quince 27 

Mice, meadow 171 

Mildew 92 

Missouri Mammoth quince 29 

Morthiera Mespili 90, 91 

Moults of caterpillars 107 

Mound layers 57 

Mulching 47 

Mus arvicolce 171 

Musk or Pineapple quince 30 

New upright quince 25 

Nitrogen , sources of 39 

Ophion, long-tailed 115 

Ophion macruruni 115, 124 

Orange or Apple quince 22 

Orange rust 86 

Orchard, layinu: out the 43, 47 

Orgyia leucostigma 115, 1 16 

Overl>earing 77 

P:ir;isites 108 

Pear quince 31 



Pacre 

Pear-tree blister beetle 131 

Slug 116 

Phycis indiginella 128 

Phylloptera oblongifolia 128 

Pickles, sweet 176 

Pinching in 71 

Pineapple quince 30 

Planting 45, 47 

Distance apart 49 

Platyphyllum concavus 127 

Podisus spinosus 110 

Podosphcera tridactyla 92 

Polyphemus moth 119 

Pomphopcea cenia 131 

Portugal quince 31 

Poultry, aid of 170 

Price of quinces 81 

Principles to be understood — 12 

Profits 81 

Promoting fruitfulness with- 
out pruning 74, 75 

Propagation 57, 62 

By budding 62 

cuttings 57, 59 

grafting 59 

layering 57 

root grafting 58 

root cuttings 59 

seeds 55 

sprouts 57 

stool layers 57 

Best time to layer 57 

Formation of callus 57 

How to plant cuttings 59 

Keepiiig buds dormant 8 

Length of cuttings 57 

On what to graft 59 

Preparing for planting 58, 59 

Time to plant 59 

Pruning at transplanting 63 

for f orni 65 

Fruitfulness 68 

Good pruning illustrated. .. 72 

Healing wounds 73, 74 

Pruning limbs 71 

Root pruning 69 

To promot e growth 67 

When to prune limbs 71 

Roots 70 

with saw 73 

Shears 74 

Quinces among the Greeks 13 

among the Romans .... 13 

in America 16 

Botany 13 

Etymology 13 

France 16 

Italy 15 

Persia 15 

Tradition 13 

Parts of tree 17 

Curculio 131 

Scale 100 

Rot 93 

Trees, ornamental 11 

Rabbit, the gray 170 

Rcestilia aurantiaca 86, 89 



180 



QUINCE CULTURE. 



Page 

Rea's Mammoth quince 32 

Recipes 173-176 

Quinces, baked 175 

Quince bandoline 173 

Butter 174 

Canned 175 

Compote 174 

Jelly 176 

Marmalade 174 

Preserves 174 

Sauce 175 

Sweet pickles 176 

Syrup 173 

Water 173 

Wine 173 

Red ants 105 

Remedies for aphides... 101, 126, 127 
Bag, basket or drop worm.. 112 

Borers 99 

Caterpillar of handmaid 

motli 108 

Emperor moth 114 

Curculio 132 

Cut-worms 105 

Fall web- worm 108 

Katydids 128 

Leaf crumpler 130 

Lice 134 

Fear-tree blister bee le 131 

Pear-tree slug 118, 119 

Polyphemus moth 123 

Rabbits 170 

Scale 100 

Spined soldier-bug 110 

Tarnished plant-bug 130 

Vaporer, or white tussock 

moth 116 

Restoring withered trees 51 

Ringing branches for early fruit 75 

Rodents 170 

Roots 17, 48 

Tap 17 

Lateral 17 

Root cuttings 59 

Grafting 58 

Pruning, how, when 69 

Rot 93 

Round-lieaded apple-tree borer 97 

Sack-trager 110 

Salt as a fertilizer 37 

Saperda bivittata 97 

Candida 97 

Satumia lo 112 

Sauce, quince 138 

Seeds 55 

Selandria Cerasi 116 

Slieiirs belter than knife 74 

Soils 33, 35 

Draining 35 

Effect on quality of fruit ... 35 

How kept moist* 35 

How selected 34 

Kinds 33 

Sphceropsis Cydonice 93 

Spined soklier-bug 110 

Sprouts from stumps 57 

Step-ladder 7J 



Page 

Stipule.s 18 

Stool layers 57 

Straightening trees 55 

Suber cells 94 

Sweet pickles 176 

Sweet quince 32 

Syrphus flies 127 

Syrphus polihis 127 

Syrup, quince 136 

Tacliina flies 105, 108 

Tachina ])hycitce 130 

Tarnished plant-bug 130 

Telea Polyjjhemus 119 

Thinning fruit, wlien, which 

70, 77, 78 

Th yridopteryx ephemerceformis. .. 110 

Tiger moths 109 

Toads 133 

Trenching 41 

Transplanting 47, 49, 70 

to bring into bearing 70 

Care in planting 50 

Cutting back 50 

Keeping a record 54 

Preparing ground 50 

Size for transi)lanting 50 

Time 52,54 

Unfavorable weatlier 75, 76 

Vaporer moth 115 

Varieties 20-32, 161 

Anger's 21 

Apple, or Orange 22 

Belleflower 161 

California 162 

Champion 24 

Cliinese 25 

Columbia 161 

De Bourgeat 25, 161 

Fontenay, or new upright. . 25 

Fuller 25 

Japanese 27, 161 

Johnson 161 

Meech's Prolific 27 

Missouri Mammoth 29 

Musk, or Pineapple 30 

No. 80 162 

Pear 31 

Portugal 31 

Rea's Mammoth 32 

Santa Rosa 161 

Seedlings numerous 21 

Sweet quince 32 

Van Deman 162 

AVhat constitutes a variety. 20 

When to sell quinces 80 

White-marked tussock moth. .. 115 

Winds, effect of 54 

Wine 173 

Winter-killing, causes, protec- 
tion against 95, 90 

Wood 18 

Woolly aphis 100, 101 

Wounds from pruning 73, 74 

Yellow leaf-spots 91 

Yellow-necked apple-tree cat- 
erpillar 106 



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structure and modes of development and growth ; of the complex 
organizations of plants, and the use of the pans; the germination 
of seeds, and the food of plants obtained both from the air and 
the soil. The book is a valuable one to all real students of agricul- 
ture. With numerous illustrations and tables of analysis. By Prof. 
Samuel W. UolmMU Of Yale CoUege. ^.loth, 12iuo* K^ 



STANDARD BOOKSi % 

Johnson's How Crops Feel 

A 'I'reatise on the Atmosphere and the Soil, as related in the 
Nutrition of Agricultural Plants. This volume— the companion and 
complement to "How Crops Grow"— has been welcomed by those 
who appreciate the scientific aspects of agriciilture. Illustrated. 
By Prof. Samuel W. Johnson. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Market Gardening: and Farm Notes. 

By Barnet Landreth. Experiences and Observations for both 
North and South, of Interest to the Amateur Gardener, Trucker and 
Farmer. A novel feature of th-e book is the calendar of farm an J 
garden operations for each month of the year; the chapters or 
fertilizers, transplanting, succession and rotation of crops, 1h 
packing, shipping and marketing of vegetables, will be especially 
useful to market gardeners. Cloth, 12mo. 1.0'^ 

Forest Planting:, 

A Treatise on the Care of Woodlands and the Restoration of the 
Denuded Timber-Lands on Plains and Mountains. By H. Nicholan 
Jarchow, LL. D. The author has fully described those European 
methods which have proved to be most useful in maintaining the 
superb forests of the old world. This < perience has been adapted 
to the different climates and trees of America, full instructions be- 
ing given for forest planting on - various kinds of soil and siil)- 
soll, whether on mountain or valley. Illustrated, 12mo. 1.5'> 

Harris' Talks on Manures. 

By Joseph Harris, M. S., author of "Walks and Talks on the Farm," 
"Harris on the Pig," etc. Revised and enlarged by the author. A 
series of familiar and practical talks between tlie author and the 
Deacon, the Doctor, and other neighbors, on tlie whole subject o< 
manures and fertilizers; including a chapter especially written for 
it, by Sir John Bennet Lawes of Rothamsted, England. Cloth, 
12mo. 1.75 

Truck Farming: at the South. 

A work which gives the experience of a successful grower of veg». 
tables or " truck' for Northern markets. Essential to any one who 
contemplates entering this promising field of Agriculture. By A. 
Uemler of Georgia. Illustrated, cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Sweet Potato Culture. 

Giving full instructions from starting the plants to harvesting and 
storing the crop. With a chapter on the Chinese Yam. Hy James 
Fitz, Keswich, Va., author of "Southern Apple and Peach Culture." 
Cloth, 12mo. .60 

Heinrich's Window Flower Garden. 

The author is a practical florist, and this enterprising volume em- 
bodies his personal experiences in Window Gardening during a 
Jong period. New and enlarged edition. JJy Joliua J. Heinriotu 
#ully illusUatecu CiotU,.i*ttO» jl 



4 gTiN-DAIlD Boots. 

Greenhouse Construction. 

By Prof. L. R. Taft. A complete treatise on Greenhouse structures 
and arrangements of the various forms and styles of Plant Houses 
for professional llorists as well as amateurs. All the best and most 
approved structures are so fully and clearly described that anyone 
who desires to build a Greenliouse will have no difficulty in deter- 
mining the kind best suited to liis purpose. The modern and most 
siiccessftil methods of heating and ventilating are fully treated 
upon. Special chapters are devoted to Louses used for the growing 
of one kind of plants exclusively. The construction of hotbeds 
and frames receives appropriate attention. Over one hundred ex- 
cellent illustrations, specially engraved for this work, make every 
point clear to the reader and add considerably to the artistic ai>- 
pearance of the book. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Bulbs and Tuberous-Rooted Plants. 

ByC. L.Allen. A complete treatise on the History, Description, 
Methods of Propagation and full Directions for the successful cul- 
hne of Bulbs in the garden, Dwelling and Greenhouse. As gener- 
ally treated, bulbs are an expensive luxury, while, when properly 
managed, they afford the greatest amount of pleasure at the least 
cost. The author of this book has for many years made bulb grow- 
ing a specialty, and is a recognized axithority on their cultivation 
and management. The illustrations which embellish this work 
have been drawn from nature, and have been engraved especially 
for this book. The cultural directions are plainly stated, practical 
and to the point. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Henderson's Practical Floriculture. 

By Peter Henderson. A guide to the successful propagation and 
cultivation of florists' plants. The work is not one for florists and 
gardeners only, but the amateur's wants are constantly kept in 
mind, and we have a very complete treatise on the cultivation of 
flowei's under glass, or in the open air, suited to those who grow 
flowers for pleasure as well as those who make them a matter of 
trade. Beautifully illustrated. New and enlarged edition. Cloth, 
12uio. 1.50 

Lon§:*s Ornamental Gardening: for Americans. 

A Treatise on Beautifying Homes, Rural Districts and Cemeteries. 
A plain and practical work at a nu)derate price, with numerous 
illustrations and instructions so plain that they may be readily 
followed. By Elias A. Long, Landscape Architect. illustrated. 
Cloth, 12mo. 2.09 

ftixe Propa§:ation of Plants. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Illustrated with numerous engravings. An 
eminently practical and useful work. Describing the process of 
hybridizing and crossing species and varieties, and also the many 
dttferent modes by which cultivated plants may be propagated and 
multipliea. Cloth, l2mo. IM 



STANDARD BOOSJI |^ 

Parsons on the Rose. 

By Samuel B. Parsons. A treatise on the propagation, culture and 
iiistory of the rose. New and revised edition. In his work upon 
the rose, Mr. Parsons lias gathered up tlie curious legends concern- 
ing the tlower, and gives us an idea of the esteem in which it was 
held in former times. A simple garden classlficatiou has been 
adopted, and the leading varieties under each class enumerated 
and briefly described. The chapters on multiplication, cultivation 
and training are very full, and the work is altogether one of Ihe 
most complete before the public. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Henderson's Handbook of Plants. 

This new edition comprises about fifty per cent, more genera than 
the former one, and embraces the botanical name, derivation, 
natural order, etc., together with a short history of tlie different 
genera, concise instructions for their propagation and culture, and 
all the leading local or common English names, together witii a 
comprehensive glossary of Botanical and Technical terms. Plain 
instructions are also given for the cultivation of the principal veg- 
etables, fruits and flowers. Cloth, large 8vo. 4.00 

Barry's Fruit Garden. 

By P. Barry. A standard work on Fruit and Frnlt Trees ; the author 
having had over thirty years' practical experience at the head of 
one of the largest nurseries in this country. New edition revised 
tip to date. Invaluable to ail fruit growers. Illustrated. Cloth, 
12mo. 2.00 

Fulton's Peach Culture. 

Thisis the only practical guide to Peach Culttire on the Delaware 
Peninsula, and is the best work upon the subject of peach growing 
for those who would be su<rcessl'ul in that culture in any part of 
the country. It has been thorouglily revised and a large portion of 
itrewitten, by Hon. J. Alexander Fulton, the author, bringing it 
down to date. Cloth, l2mo. 1.50 

Strawberry Culturist. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Containing the History, Sexuality, Field and 
Garden Culture of Strawberries, forcing or pot culture, how to 
grow from seed, hybridizing, and all information necessary to en- 
able everybody to raise their own strawberries, together with a 
description of new varieties and a list of the best of the old sorts. 
Fully illustrated. Flexible cloth, 12uio. .25 

Fuller's Small Fruit Culturist. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Rewritten, enlarged, and brought fully up to 
the present time. The book covers the whole ground of proi)agating 
Small Fruits, their culture, varieties, packing for market, etc. It is 
very finely and thoroughly illustrated, and makes an admirable 
companioQ to "The Grape Culturist," by the same well known 
autuor. i^ 



6 STANDARD BOOKS, 

Fuller's Grape Culturist. 

By A. S. Fiiller. This is one of the very best of worfes on the Cul- 
ture of the Hardy Grapes, with full directions for all departme7its 
of propagation, culture, etc., with 150 excellent engravings, illus- 
trating planting, training, grafting, etc. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Quinn's Pear Culture for Profit. 

Teaching How to Raise Pears intelligently, and with the best in- 
sults, how to find out the character of the soil, the best methods of 
preparing it, the best varieties to select under existing conditions, 
the best modes of planting, pruning, fertilizing, grafting, and utili/ 
ing the ground before the trees come into bearing, and finally a 
gathering and packing for market. Hlustrated. By P. T. Quinn, 
practical horticulturist. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Husmann's American Grape Growing: and Wine-Makingf. 

By George Husmann of Talcoa vineyards, Napa, California. New 
and enlarged edition. With contributions from well know grape- 
growers, giving a wide range of experience. The author of this 
book is a recognized authority on the subject. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

White's Cranberry Culture. 

Contents :— Natural History.— History of Cultivation.— Choice of 
Location. — Preparing the Ground. — Planting the "Vines. — Manage- 
ment of Meadows. — Flooding. — Enemies and Difficulties Overcome. 
-Picking. — Keeping. — Profit and Loss. — Letters from Practical 
Growers. — Insects Injurious to the Cranberry. By Joseph J. White, 
a practical grower. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. New and revised 
edition. 1.25 

Fuller's Practical Forestey. 

A Treatise on the Propagation, Planting and Cultivation, with a 
description and the botanical and proper names of all the indigen- 
ous trees of the United States, both Evergreen and Deciduous, with 
Notes on a large number of the most valuable Exotic Species. By 
Andrew S. Fuller, author of "Grape Culturist," "Small Fruit Cul- 
turist," etc. 1.50 

Stewart's Irri§:ation for the Farm, Garden and Orchard. 

This work is offered to those American Farmers and other cultiva- 
tors of the soil who, from painful experience, can readily appre- 
ciate the losses which result from the scarcity of water at critical 
periods. By Henry Stewart. Fully illustrated. Cloth, l2mo. 1.50 

Quinn's Money in the Garden. 

By P. T. Quinn, The author gives in a plain, practical style, in- 
structions on three distinct, although closely connected branches 
of gardening— the kitchen garden, market garden, and field culture, 
from successful practical experience tor a term of years. Illustra- 
ted, Clotb. ISSnoo. IM 



STANDARD BOOyS. 7 

Roe's Play and Profit in My Garden. 

By E. P. Roe. The author lakes us to his garden on the rocky hill- 
sides in the vicinity of West Point, and sliows lis how out of it, 
after four years' experience, he evoked a proiit of $1,000, and this 
while carrying on pastoral and literary labor. It is very rarely 
that so much literary taste and skill are mated to so much agrl 
cultural experience and good sense. Cloth, 12mo. 1.6' 

The New Onion Culture. 

By T. Greiner. This new work is written by one of our most su< 
cessful agriculturists, and is full of new, original, and highly valu 
able matter of material interest to every one who raises onions in 
the family garden, or by tlie acre for market. By the process liere 
described a crop of 2000 bushels per acre can be as easily raised as 
500 or COO bushels in the old way. Paper, 12mo. .50 

The Dairyman's Manual. 

By Henry Stewart, author of "Tlie Shepherd's Manual," "Irriga- 
tion," etc. A useful and practical work, by a writer who is well 
known as thoroughly familiar with the subject of which he writes. 
Cloth, 12mo. 2.0ft 

Allen's American Cattle. 

Their History, Breeding and Management. By Lewis F. Allen. 
This book will be considered indispensable by every breeder of 
live stock. The large experience of the author in improving the 
character of American herds adds to the weight of his observations 
and has enabled him to produce a work which will at once make 
good his claims as a standard authority on the subject. New and 
revised edition. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 2.50 

Profits in Poultry. 

Useful and ornamental Breeds and their Profitable Management. 
This excellent work contains the combined experience of a num- 
ber of practical men in all departments of poultry raising. It is 
profusely illustrated and forms a unique and important addition 
to our poultry literature. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

The American Standard of Perfection. 

The recognized standard work on Poultry in this country, adopted 
by the American Poultry Association. It contains a complete de- 
scription of all the recognized varieties of fowls, including turkeys, 
ducks and geese ; gives instructions to judges ; glossary of technical 
terms and nomenclature. It contains 244 pages, handsomely 
bound in cloth, embellished with title in gold on front cover. $1.00 

Stoddard's An Bgg Farm. 

By H. H. Stoddard. The management of poultry In large numbers, 
being a series of articles written for the AMERICAN AGRICULTDB- 
ISI. lUustrated. Cloth« 12mo. ^ 



8 STANDARD BOOKft. 

Stewart's Shepherd's Manual. 

A Valuable Practical Treatise on the Sheep for American farmers 
and sheep growers. It is so plain that a farmer or a farmer's son 
who has never kept a slieep, may learn from its pages how to 
manage a flock successfully, and yet so complete that even the ex- 
perienced shepherd may gather many suggestions from it. The 
results of personal experience of some years with the characters 
of the various modern breeds of sheep, and the sheep raising capa- 
bilities of many portions of our extensive territory and that of 
Canada— and the careful study of the diseases to which our sheep 
are chiefly subject, with tliose by which they may eventually be 
afflicted through unforseen accidents— as well as the methods of 
management called for under our circumstances, are carefully 
described. By Henry Stewart. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Wri§:ht's Practical Poultry-Keeper, 

By L. Wright. A complete and standard guide to the management 
of poultry, for domestic use, the markets or exhibition. It suits at 
once the plain poulterer, who must make the business pay, and the 
chicken fancier whose taste is for gay plumage and strange, bright 
birds. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. $2.00 

Harris on the Pi§:. 

New Edition. Revised and enlarged by the author. The points of 
the various English and American breeds are thoroughly discussed, 
and the gi-eat advantage of using thoroughbred males clearly 
fehown. The work is equally valuable to the farmer who keeps l)ut 
few pigs, and to the breeder on an extensive scale. By Joseph 
Harris. Illustrated. Cloth, 12iii.o. 1.50 

The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser. 

A guide to the Trevention and Treatment of Disease in Domestic 
Animals. This is one of the best works on this subject, and is es- 
pecially designed to supply the need o^ the busy American Farm- 
er, who can rarely avail himself of the advice of a Scientific Veter- 
inarian. It is brought up to date and treats of the Prevention otf 
Disease as well as of the Remedies. By Prof. Jas. Law. Clot h. 
Crown, 8vo. 3.00 

Dadd's American Cattle Doctor. 

By George H. Dadd, M. D., Veterinary I^a-ctitioner. To help every 
man to be his own cattle-doctor; giving tlie necessary inx^^ormatiorj 
for preserving the health and curing the diseases of oxen, cows, 
sheep and swine, with a great variety of original recipes, and val- 
nable information on farm and dairy management. Cloth, 12mo. i.5t 

tattle Breeding:. 

By "Wm. "Warfield. This work is by common consent the most 
valuable and pre-eminently practical treatise on cattle-breeding 
ever published in America, being the actual experience and ob- 
servance of a practical man. Cloth, l2HiO. 3jQ0 



STANDARD B0CS5, V 

Dadd's Amencan Cattle Doctor. 

A complete work on all the Diseases of Cattle, Sheep and Swine, in- 
cluding every Disease peculiar to America, and embracing all the 
latest information on the Cattle Plague and Trichina; containing 
also a guide to symptoms, a table of Weights and Measures, and a 
list of Valuable Medicines. By George H. D:i<1d, V. S., twenty-five 
years aleading Veterinary Surgeon in England and the United 
States, and author of the ''Ajnerican Reformed Horse Book." Cloth, 
octavo. Illustrated. ^-^ 

Cattle and Their Diseases. 

By A. J. Murray, M. R. C. V. S. Breeding and ^Management of Cat- 
tle. This is one of the very few works devoted exclusively to 
cattle diseases, and will be particularly valuable to cattlemen 
for that reason. It is written in plain, simple language, easily un- 
derstood by any farmer, while it is learned and technical enough 
to satisfy any veterinary surgeon. Cloth, 12mo. ii.iX) 

Silos, Ensila§:e, and Sila§:e. 

A practical Treatise on the Ensilage of Fodder Com, containing 
the most recent and authentic information on this important sutv 
ject, by Manly Miles, M. D. k\ H. M. S. ^iustrated. Cloth. l2mo. .£>0 

Manures. 

How to Make and How to Use them. By Frank W. Sempers. The 
author has made a concise, practical handbook containing the lat- 
est researches in agriculture in all parts of the world. Tlie reports 
of the agricultural experiment stati<ms have furnished many val- 
uable suggestions. Both commercial and home-made manures 
are fully described, and many formulas for special crops and soils 
are given. l*rice postpaid, paper 50 cents, cloth. l-OO 

Potato Pests. 

No farmer can afford to be without this little book. It gives the 
most complete account of the Colorado Beetle anywhere to be 
found, and includes all the latest discoveries as to tlie habits of the 
insect and the various means for its destruction. It is well illustiar 
ted, and exhibits in a map the spread of the insect since it ielt its 
native home. By Brof . C. V. lUley. i'aper. JM 

Your Plants. 

Plain and Practical Directions for the Treatment of Tender and 
Hardy Plants in the House and in the Garden. By James Sheehan. 
The work meets the wants of the amateur who grows a few plants 
in the window, or has a small flower garden. Paper covers. .40 

Pedder's Land-Measurer for Farmers. 

A convenient Pocket Companion, showing at once the contents of 
any piece of land, when its length and vidth are unknown, up to 
IriOC feet either way, with vaiious cihsi useful fanu tables. Cloth, 



10 SIAKDARD BOOKS, 

Hop Ctilture. 

Plain directions given by ten experienced cultivators. Reyised^ 
enlarged and edited by A. S. Fuller. Forty engravings. .30 

Wheat Culture. 

How to double the yield and increase the profits. By D. S. Curtiss, 
Washington, D. C. Importance of the Wheat Crop. Varieties Most 
Grown in the United States. Examples of Successful Wheat Cul- 
ture. Illustrated. Paper covers. .60 

Starr's Farm Echoes. 

Uy F. Ratcliford Starr, Echo Farm, Litchfield, Ct. This handsome 
little book tells how the author turned from a successful business 
career to agricultural pursuits, and has achieved health, happiness 
and prosperity upon his broad acres near Litchfield. Cloth, 12iuo. 
Illustrated. .50 

The American Merino. For Wool or for Mutton. 

A practical and most valuable work on the selection, care, breeding 
and diseases of the Merino sheep, in all sections of tlie United 
States. It is a full and exhaustive treatise upon this one breed of 
sheep. By Stephen Powers. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Cobum's Swine Husbandry. 

Mew, revised and enlarged edition. The Breeding, Rearing, and 
Management of Swine, and the Prevention and Treatment of tlieir 
Diseases. It is tlie fullest and freshest compendium relating to 
Swine Breeding yet offered. By F. D. Coburn. Cloth, 12mo. 1.75 

tobacco Culture: Full Practical Details. 

This useful and valuable work contains full details of every process 
from the Selection and Propagation of the Seed and Soil to the 
Harvesting, Curing and Marketing the Crop, with illustrative en- 
gravings of the operations. The work was prepared by Fourteen 
Experienced Tobacco Growers, residing in different parts of the 
country. It also contains notes on the Tobacco Worm, with Ulus- 
trations. 8vo. .25 

Keeping: One Cow. 

A collection of prize Essays and Selections from a number of other 
Essays, with editorial notes, suggestions, etc. This book gives the 
latest information, and in a clear and condensed form, upon the 
management of a single Milch Cow. Illustrated with full page en- 
gravings of the most famous dairy cows. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows. 

A treatise on the Bovine Species in General. An entirely new 
translation of the last edition of this popular and instructive book. 
By Thomas J. Hand, Secretary of tlie American Jersey Cattle Club. 
With over 100 iiiustrations, especially engraved for this work, 
^loth, l2mo. l-OC 



STANDARD BOOKS. H 



Sander's Horse Breeding:. 



Being the general principles of Heredity applied to the Business of 
Breeding Horses and tne Management of Stallions, Brood Mares 
and Foals. The book embraces all that the breeder wishes to know 
in regard to the selection of stock, management of the stallion, 
brood mare, and foal, and treatment of diseases peculiar to breed- 
ing animals. By J. H. Sanders. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Herbert's Hints to Horse Keepers. 

Tills is one of the best and most popular works on the horse pre- 
pared In this country. A complete manual for horsemen, embrac- 
ing: How to Breed a Horse; How to Buy a Horse; How to Break a 
Horse ; How to Use a Horse ; How to Feed a Horse ; How to Physic a 
Horse (Allopathy or Homoeopathy); How to Groom a Horse; How 
to Drive a Horse; How to Ride a Horse, etc. By the late Henry 
William Herbert, (Frank Forester). Beautifully Illustrated. Cloth, 
12mo. 1.75 

Waringfton's Chemistry of the Farm. 

Treating with the utmost clearness and conciseness, and In the 
most popular manner possible, of the relations of Chemistry to 
Agriculture, and providing a welcome manual for those who, 
while not having time to systematically study Chemistry, will 
gladly have such an idea as this gives them of its relation to oper- 
ations on the farm. By &, Warington, F. C. S. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Farm Appliances. 

Describing numerous Useful and Labor-Saving appliances, and 
will be found of great value in every department of Farm work. 
With nearly 250 Illustrations. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Fences, Gates and Bridgfes. 

A much-needed and valuable work. The descriptions are abundantly 
illustrated. The book also contains a synopsis of the Fence Laws 
of the different States. Over 100 engravings. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Farm Conveniences. 

A Manual of what to do, and how to do It. Describing all manner 
of Homemade Aids to Farm Work. Made up of the best ideas from 
the experience of many practical men. With over two hundred 
engravings. 1.50 

Waring's Draining for Profit and Draining for Health. 

This book is a very complete and practial treatise, the directions 
in which are plain and easily followed. The subject of thorough 
farm drainage is discussed in all its bearings, and also that more 
extensive land drainage by which the sanitary condition of any 
district may be greatly improved, even to the banishment of fever 
and ague, typhoid and malarial fever. By Geo E. Waring, Jr. 
Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. J.50 



12 STANDARD BOOKS. 

The Do§:s of Great Britain, America and Other Countries. 

New, enlarged and revised edition. Their Breeding, training and 
management, in liealtli and disease; comprising all the essential 
parts of the two standard works on the dog, by "Stonehenge." It 
describes the Best Game and Hunting Grounds in America. 
Contains over One Hundred Beautiful Engravings, embracing 
most noted Dogs in both continents, making, together with Chai> 
ters by American Writers, the most complete Dog Book over pub- 
lished. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

American Bird Fancier. 

Or how to Breed, Rear and Care for Song and Domestic Birds. This 
vahiable and important little work for all who are interested in 
the keeping of Song Birds, has been revised and enlarged, and is 
row a complete manual upon the subject. All who own valuable 
birds, or wish to do so, will find the new Fancier indispensable. 
New, revised and enlarged edition. ^By D. J, Browne and Dr. 
Fuller Walker. Illustrated, paper. .50 

Gardening: for Young: and Old. 

By Joseph Harris. A work intended to interest farmers' boys in 
Farm Gardening, which means a better and more profitable form 
of agriculture. The teachings are given in the familiar manner so 
well known in the author's "Walks and Talks on the Farm." Illus- 
trated. Cloth, 12mo. 1.25 

Onions ; How to Raise Them Profitably. 

Being the Practical Details, from Selection of Seed and Preparation 
of Ground to Harvesting and Marketing the Crop, given very 
plainly by Seventeen Practical Onion Growers of long experience 
residing in different parts of the country. No more valuable work 
ol its size was ever issued. Paper, 8vo. .20 

Tomato Culture. 

By J. W. Day, D. Cummins, and A. I. Root. In three parts. Part 
First — Tomato Culture in the South. Part Second— Tomato Cul- 
ture, especially for Canning Factories. Part Third— Plant Growing 
for Market and High Pressure. Gardening in general. A Practical 
Book for those who work under either Glass or Cloth as a Protec- 
tion from Frost. 135 pages, illustrated. Paper, 16mo. .05 

flow to Handle and Educate Vicious Horses. 

By Oscar R. Gleason. Directions for Handling Vicious Horses, 
Breaking Colts, Teaching Horses Tricks, etc. Ulustrated. Cloth, 
12mo. ^0 

Hie Family Horse. 

Its stabling, Care and Feeding. By Geo. A. Martin. A Practical 
Manual, full ot tlie most useful information. Illustrated. Cloth 









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